Expert Systems: Design and Development

Presents a step-by-step methodology for designing expert systems. Each chapter on design methodology starts with a problem and leads the reader through the design of a system which solves that problem.

This comprehensive text is both a primer on how to build expert systems and a resource on the key advanced topics in the field. It includes detailed appendices on applications and on software products and a glossary of nearly 300 terms in AI and expert systems. Separate chapters are devoted to different types of systems. Each chapter on design methodology starts with a problem and leads the student through the design of a system which solves that problem. Many examples of expert systems are included, with explicit discussion of their design features and of why those features illustrate good design practice. Exercises give students practice using the basic design techniques and progressively more advanced techniques. Beyond this thorough instruction in design, Durkin's Expert Systems outlines the steps required to introduce, implement, and manage an expert system project in the workplace--in a chapter that covers choosing a project, obtaining management approval, testing the system, and maintaining the system.