APPLICATIONS AND ANALYSES OF EXPERT SYSTEMS IN DECISION MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Expert system finds applications in many fields of human endeavors. It is a computer software that attempts to perform the tasks of a human expert. Expert system was the first commercial system to use a knowledge-based architecture. It is divided into two sub-systems: the knowledge base and the inference engine. The knowledge base represents facts and rules; while the inference engine applies the rules to the known facts to deduce new facts. Inference engines can also include explanation and debugging capabilities. The goal of knowledge-based systems is to make the critical information required for the system to work explicit rather than implicit. In a traditional computer program, the logic is embedded in codes that can only be typically reviewed by an IT specialist. With an expert system, the goal is to specify the rules in a format that is intuitive and easily understood, reviewed, and even edited by domain experts rather than IT experts.

KEYWORDS: Expert system, diagnosis, knowledge-base, inference, software