, AND CONVERSELY , EACH NEW ROLLING DEMONSTRATOR CAN USE EARLY RESEARCH RESULTS CURRENT AT THE TIME OF INCEPTION , WHICH IT WILL THEN KEEP FROZEN FOR ITS TWO TO THREE YEAR DURATION .
TYPE A PROJECTS
3.1.1 . KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS AND THEIR METRICATION
THE OBJECTIVE IS AN ON-GOING PROGRAMME , OVER AT LEAST FIVE YEARS , OF CONSTRUCTION OF DEMONSTRATOR KBS APPLICATIONS , USING STATE-OF-ART FACILITIES ( HARDWARE , SOFTWARE AND LARGE DATABASES ) AVAILABLE AT THE TIME , SO AS TO MAINTAIN AN UP-TO-DATE POOL OF EXPERTISE ON KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING SKILLS AND ON CLASSIFICATION OF DOMAIN CHARACTERISTICS AGAINST AVAILABLE TOOLS AND METHODS . IT WILL BE A VEHICLE FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE TOOLS AND METHODS USED FOR PROCESS ANALYSIS , KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND MANIPULATION , INFERENCE AND PROCESSING , PROBLEM SOLVING PARADIGMS AND HUMAN FACTORS/MMI .
THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT COVERS THE FIRST PHASE OF THE ON-GOING DEMONSTRATOR PROGRAMME , WITH A SWITCH OVER AT RESOURCES FROM THE FIFTH YEAR INTO PROJECT 3.1.4 FOR THE SECOND PHASE OF THE DEMONSTRATOR PROGRAMME .
SINCE THE TOOLS AND METHODS VARY FOR DOMAIN CLASSES SHOWING MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN CHARACTER , DEMONSTRATORS SHOULD INCLUDE WIDELY VARIED EXAMPLES IN FIELDS OF CREATIVE DESIGN , PRODUCTION CONTROL DIAGNOSIS , SYSTEMS MODELLING , SIGNAL PROCESSING , DECISION MAKING AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING . AS SUCH , THIS PROGRAMME WILL BE A CRUCIAL SOURCE OF EDUCATION , AND OF DIRECTION FOR ON-GOING/FUTURE RESEARCH PROGRAMMES , AND OF EXPERIENCE FOR MAKING MARKETABLE KBS APPLICATIONS .
ALMOST NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING AS A HUMAN SKILL , OR ABOUT KBS PERFORMANCE , EVALUATION , MEASUREMENT AND ACCEPTABILITY IN TERMS OF CLIENT PRODUCTIVITY . IT IS NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY THOSE METRICS WHICH ARE OF SIGNIFICANCE AND TO ESTABLISH METHODS AND TOOLS FOR THEIR MEASUREMENT - QUALITY OF KNOWLEDGE IS CRUCIAL BUT DIFFICULT TO METRICATE . THIS WORK MUST ALSO CREATE A " TOOLS AND METHODS " KIT FOR KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERS TO SIZE KBS APPLICATIONS IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION AND CLIENT USAGE RESOURCES , AND IN TERMS OF THE MOST APPROPRIATE SYSTEM COMPONENTS .
KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING WILL BE A BIGGER BOTTLENECK THAN SOFTWARE PRODUCTION IF THE ISSUES OF HUMAN PRODUCTIVITY , AS WELL AS SYSTEM PERFORMANCE , ARE NOT UNDERSTOOD . AS SUCH , THIS WORK IS OF KEY IMPORTANCE IN THE TOP DOWN DESIGN OF KBS APPLICATIONS . SINCE NEW TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES ARE ADDED CONTINUALLY TO THE KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING REPERTOIRE DURING THE ESPRIT PROGRAMME , THIS METRICATION WORK SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AS A CONTINOUSLY ROLLING PROGRAMME .
PROGRAMME AND INTERMEDIATE OBJECTIVES
YEAR 1 :
- SELECT APPLICATION DOMAIN ;
- CHOOSE APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND METHODS ;
- ESTABLISH IMPLEMENTATION ENVIRONMENT ;
- IDENTIFY METRICATION ASPECTS FOR EVALUATION ; DEVELOP CONCEPTS AND METHODS FOR SOLUTIONS .
YEAR 2 :
- CHOOSE METRICATION TOOLS AND METHODS TO BE DEVELOPED ;
- DEFINE WHAT MEASURES ARE TO BE MADE AND ANALYZED ;
- DEFINE THE APPLICATIONS TO BE INSTRUMENTED AND MEASURED .
YEARS 1