He or she can also add new knowledge components about old or new problems. An object-oriented database creates dynamic relationships among the components to yield a solution to the problem. It's an empowered, democratic approach to knowledge management, but it requires an ability to classify knowledge components that not all users may possess. The Primus tool is being piloted in a number of customer support environments. This statistically oriented tool excels at using data to classify cases into one category or another.
Neural networks can yield accurate classifications of cases, even with many interrelated variables.
They require a smart user because the statistical interpretation of results can be very tricky. Smart businesspeople, as opposed to very smart statisticians, may not like them for this reason. Hence Fidelity Investments, which generally hires smart users as fund managers, no longer uses neural networks to select stocks in the Disciplined Equity Fund, but rather uses an algorithmic approach that is more transparent to the fund manager. Finally, if you've got unlimited time and a very high ability to synthesize knowledge, I recommend a proven technology that is widely available. It's called the book.