Compiling Design Plans from Descriptions of Artifacts and Problem Solving Heuristics

An analysis of the design plans in the Pride expert system shows that they integrate knowledge about structure and functionality of artifacts as well as problem-solving heuristics A method is presented by which such plans can be automatically generated by compiling knowledge about artifacts, problem solving heuristics, and characteristics of specific problems. Knowledge compilation allows the creation of plans tailored to particular problems and offers potential benefits in maintaining a knowledge base, in reusing the same knowledge for different purposes, and in providing a framework for more systematic knowledge acquisition.