The development, validation and implementation of knowledge-based systems

Abstract It is now ten years since Operational Research, and other groups that support management decision making, seized upon Knowledge-based Systems (KBS) as an alternative set of techniques and methods for building systems that support, augment or automate decision making. Success, as with most information technologies, has been mixed. This paper briefly reviews where KBS have been successful, and what benefits have been derived. It notes that interest in KBS has been rekindled by the present interest in business process re-engineering. Given the mature state of development tools, most KBS developers are now focusing on methodological and life-cycle issues. The paper reviews progress in understanding and using development methodologies, validation methods (now generally considered as crucial to technical success) and implementation. Some ideas about where KBS ‘fits in’ to the array of tools, techniques and methodologies available to the modern analyst and system developer are presented.

[1]  Virginia E. Barker,et al.  Expert systems for configuration at Digital: XCON and beyond , 1989, Commun. ACM.

[2]  Larry Press,et al.  The global diffusion of the Internet: patterns and problems , 1994, CACM.

[3]  Peter Duchessi,et al.  Understanding expert systems success and failure , 1995 .

[4]  Carol E. Brown,et al.  The Fourth International Symposium on Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management , 1994 .

[5]  Daniel E. O'Leary,et al.  The Impact of Expert Systems in Accounting: System Characteristics, Productivity and Work Unit Effects , 1993 .

[6]  Georgios I. Doukidis,et al.  A Survey of the Application of Artificial Intelligence Techniques within the OR Society , 1990 .

[7]  Robert M. O'Keefe,et al.  Expert Systems and Operational Research-Mutual Benefits , 1985 .

[8]  James C. Wetherbe,et al.  Mixing prototyping and data modeling for information-system design , 1991, IEEE Software.

[9]  Daniel E. O'Leary,et al.  A Research Perspective: Artificial Intelligence, Management and Organizations , 1993 .

[10]  S. Muggleton,et al.  Modelling the structure and function of enzymes by machine learning. , 1992, Faraday discussions.

[11]  Barry G. Silverman,et al.  Expert Critics in Engineering Design: Lessons Learned and Research Needs , 1992, AI Mag..

[12]  Melody Y. Kiang,et al.  Managerial Applications of Neural Networks: The Case of Bank Failure Predictions , 1992 .

[13]  Jan Treur,et al.  Formal Specification of Complex Reasoning Systems , 1993 .

[14]  John J. Sviokla.  Expert systems and their impact on the firm: the effects of PlanPower use on the information-processing capacity of the Financial Collaborative , 1989, [1989] Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Volume III: Decision Support and Knowledge Based Systems Track.

[15]  Ravi S. Sharma,et al.  A socio-technical model for deploying expert systems. I. The general theory , 1991 .

[16]  John P. McDermott,et al.  The Taming of R1 , 1986, IEEE Expert.

[17]  John S. Edwards,et al.  Expert systems in management and administration - are they really different from Decision Support Systems? , 1992 .

[18]  M H Birley,et al.  Review of expert systems. , 1986, Parasitology today.

[19]  Philip Powell,et al.  A Comparison of Potential Applications of Expert Systems and Decision Support Systems , 1990 .

[20]  Peter G. W. Keen,et al.  Decision support systems : an organizational perspective , 1978 .

[21]  Kirstie L. Bellman,et al.  The modeling issues inherent in testing and evaluating knowledge-based systems , 1990 .

[22]  Alun D. Preece,et al.  Foundation and application of knowledge base verification , 1994, Int. J. Intell. Syst..

[23]  Valerie Belton,et al.  Experiences with Using Expert Systems in O.R. , 1986 .

[24]  Anthony C. Stylianou,et al.  Expert support systems: integrating AI technologies , 1993, CACM.

[25]  John Rushby,et al.  Quality Measures and Assurance for AI Software1 , 1988 .

[26]  Michael R. Lowry.  Software Engineering in the Twenty-First Century , 1992, AI Mag..

[27]  Robert Plant,et al.  Towards the formal specification of an OPS5 production system architecture , 1994, Int. J. Intell. Syst..

[28]  David Reynolds,et al.  Tennessee Offender Management Information System , 1993, AI Mag..

[29]  Kenneth Fordyce,et al.  IBM Burlington's Logistics Management System , 1990 .

[30]  Alun D. Preece,et al.  Principles and practice in verifying rule-based systems , 1992, Knowl. Eng. Rev..

[31]  Eugene C. Freuder,et al.  Constraint-based reasoning , 1994 .

[32]  Lance A. Miller,et al.  Dynamic testing of knowledge bases using the heuristic testing approach , 1990 .

[33]  John Rushby,et al.  Formal verification of AI software , 1989 .

[34]  John C. Cherniavsky,et al.  Validation, Verification, and Testing of Computer Software , 1982, CSUR.

[35]  Bob J. Wielinga,et al.  KADS: a modelling approach to knowledge engineering , 1992 .

[36]  Gruia-Catalin Roman,et al.  Formal Verification of Pure Production System Programs , 1991, AAAI.

[37]  Frederick Hayes-Roth,et al.  The state of knowledge-based systems , 1994, CACM.

[38]  Robert M. O'Keefe,et al.  Developing a strategy for expert system verification and validation , 1994, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern..

[39]  John B. Goodenough,et al.  Correction to "toward a theory of test data selection" , 1975, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

[40]  John Rushby,et al.  Evaluation of an expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery in the manned maneuvering unit , 1990 .

[41]  Alun Preece,et al.  Towards a methodology for evaluating expert systems , 1990 .

[42]  Jan Wielemaker,et al.  Shelley: computer-aided knowledge engineering , 1992 .

[43]  Lisa Leonard,et al.  Quality and Knowledge in Software Engineering , 1993, AI Mag..

[44]  Wei-Tek Tsai,et al.  Comparative evaluation of expert system testing methods , 1992, Proceedings Fourth International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence TAI '92.

[45]  Leonard Adelman,et al.  Evaluating decision support and expert systems , 1991 .

[46]  Osman Balci,et al.  Validating Expert System Performance , 1987, IEEE Expert.

[47]  P. Holroyd,et al.  Developing expert systems for management applications , 1985 .

[48]  Donald A. Waterman,et al.  A Guide to Expert Systems , 1986 .

[49]  Peter Duchessi,et al.  Contrasting successful and unsuccessful expert systems , 1992 .

[50]  Robert M. O'Keefe,et al.  Experiences with an expert systems prototyping methodology , 1994 .

[51]  Mary Czerwinski,et al.  Compaq Quicksource: Providing the Consumer with the Power of AI , 1993, AI Mag..

[52]  Daniel E. O'Leary,et al.  AI in Accounting, Finance and Management , 1995 .

[53]  Alun D. Preece,et al.  Exploring the Structure of Rule Based Systems , 1993, AAAI.

[54]  Peter Duchessi,et al.  Evolutionary Steps in Expert Systems Projects , 1995 .

[55]  Peter Duchessi,et al.  A Knowledge-based Approach to Production Planning , 1990 .

[56]  Kar Yan Tam,et al.  Neural network models and the prediction of bank bankruptcy , 1991 .

[57]  John Kingston.  Pragmatic KADS: a methodological approach to a small knowledge‐based systems project , 1992 .

[58]  Walter Reitman.  Generic Expert Systems for Management Applications: The Operations Advisor and the Management Advisor , 1990 .

[59]  Rose F. Gamble.  A Perspective on Formal Verification , 1993 .

[60]  Roger C. Schank,et al.  Learning via multimedia computers , 1993, CACM.