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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
Abstract
This paper describes and illustrates the use of a methodology suitable for the formal development of expert systems. It addresses the problems of verification and validation of expert systems in a realistic way, though the methods are not advocated as a general tool for expert system development. The framework described allows for both the specification of Knowledge and the specification of the Inference methods which provide the basis for deduction. A flexible and extensible environment for the development and testing of specific types of expert system is presented. Various tools and results are shown to be useful in determining properties of both the knowledge base and the inference system when these are developed within the proposed framework.
The framework is based on exploitation of the transformational model of software development in combination with techniques from algebraic specification.
INTRODUCTION
The development of expert systems, within a formal development framework (see [Krieg-Brückner and Hoffmann 91]), can be seen as a significant advance in expert system technology. The benefits accrued from such an approach are substantial. In particular the following are notable: a formal foundation for reasoning about properties of the knowledge base and inference system is provided. Inductive and deductive methods are available to help in both the construction of the expert system and as a tool for analysis of the knowledge bases. A well defined language, with well defined semantics, provides the basis for specifying both the expert system and the associated knowledge bases.
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