USE OF KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING TO BECOME PROPERLY ESTABLISHED , IT WILL BE CRUCIAL TO BE ABLE TO PREDICT BOTH THE COSTS AND THE BENEFITS OF KBS APPLICATIONS .
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 VERY IMPORTANT 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 ORGANISED AS A CONTINUOUSLY ROLLING PROGRAMME .
MILESTONES
YEAR 1984/85 :
- IDENTIFY METRICATION ASPECTS FOR EVALUATION
- DEVELOP CONCEPTS AND METHODS FOR SOLUTIONS
- MAKE INITIAL MEASUREMENTS ON AVAILABLE KBS APPLICATIONS .
YEAR 1985/86 :
- DEVELOP METRICATION TOOLS AND METHODS
- ASSEMBLE KBS DEMONSTRATOR
- RECORD CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND RESULTS .
YEAR 1986/87 :
- MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE FOR THE TARGET APPLICATIONS
- CARRY OUT EXPERIMENTS ON DEMONSTRATORS TO DETERMINE ACCEPTABILITY , IMPACT ON " CLIENT " PRODUCTIVITY AND LIFE CYCLE ASPECTS .
- REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY AND RECOMMEND NEW TOOLS AND METHODS .
YEAR 1987/88 :
- PUBLISH PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE RECOMMENDATIONS , AND GUIDELINES FOR KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERS
- DEMONSTRATE NEW AUTOMATED METRICATION METHODS .
. " REAL TIME KNOWLEDGE BASED MONITOR FOR BUSINESS PROCESSES " ( REF . 296 : B/84 )
KBS MAY BE USED TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF A BUSINESS SYSTEM , SUCH AS PRODUCTION PLANNING IN MANUFACTURING . IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THIS , THE KNOWLEDGE BASE MUST BE A MODEL OF THE PRODUCTION PLANNING PROCESS , AND THE FACT DATA BASE MUST BE A MODEL OF THE STATUS OF THIS PROCESS . THE TASK OF THE CONTROL ENGINE CONSISTS OF MATCHING THE STATUS AGAINST THE MODEL OF THE PROCESS IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE NEXT ACTION WHICH HAS TO HAPPEN . THE CONTROL ENGINE OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM HAS FEATURES THAT GO BEYOND THOSE OF TRADITIONAL INFERENCE ENGINES :
- IT IS A REAL TIME SYSTEM THAT RESPONDS TO ANY CHANGE OF THE BUSINESS STATUS . THEREFORE THE PROPOSED KBS MUST HANDLE REAL TIME OBJECTS ;
- IT HAS TO BE OPERATIONAL CONTINUOUSLY .
IN ORDER THAT THE KNOWLEDGE BASE BE A MODEL OF THE PRODUCTION PLANNING PROCESS , THIS PROCESS HAS TO BE FORMALLY DESCRIBED . THE CONCEPTS OF ACTIVITY , STATE AND AGENT WILL BE USED . MAPPING THIS FORMAL MODEL INTO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE POSES REPRESENTATIONAL ISSUES , AND SEVERAL TECHNIQUES WILL BE INVESTIGATED . THE PROJECT DEFINES THREE TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION TOOLS , ACCORDING TO THE SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE ( BUSINESS PROCEDURE , TASK SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION INCLUDING PROGRAMMES , AND USER'S MIND ) .
. " KNOWLEDGE BASED ASSISTANT FOR ELECTROMYOGRAPHY " ( REF . 599 : B/84 )
THE AIM OF THE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A KNOWLEDGE BASED ASSISTANT TO SUPPORT PHYSICIANS IN ALL STAGES OF AN ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ( EMG ) EXAMINATION