A Web-Based Expert System
6 November 2006
An expert system is a program that uses a set of rules to analyse information about a specific subject with a view to solving problems or giving advice. It emulates a human expert’s problem solving ability by performing relevant tasks as well as, or better than, the expert. Often, the expert system will explain and justify its output and provide a measure of certainty in the appropriateness of the output. Furthermore, the output given by an expert system is, as is the case with humans, heuristic (a rule of thumb) rather than algorithmic (guaranteed to succeed).
Expert systems are incredibly useful tools. Traditional tasks have included:
- Data interpretation – such as responding to business “intelligence” like key performance indicators.
- Problem diagnosis – such as advising on equipment failure or human diseases.
- Configuration of complex systems – such as guiding the set-up of computer software.
- Planning actions – such as advising on business strategy or suggesting robotic manoeuvres.
This article briefly explains the capabilities of yet another project I am currently developing: an easy-to-use web-based expert system that acts as a marketplace for sharing and disseminating knowledge and expertise.
