A Script-Based Approach to Modifying Knowledge Bases

Our goal is to build knowledge acquisition tools that support users in modifying knowledge-based systems. These modi cations may require several individual changes to various components of the knowledge base, which need to be carefully coordinated to prevent users from leaving the knowledge-based system in an unusable state. This paper describes an approach to building knowledge acquisition tools which capture knowledge about commonly occurring modi cation sequences and support users in completing the modi cations they start. These sequences, which we call KA Scripts, relate individual changes and the e ects that they have on the knowledge base. We discuss our experience in designing and compiling a library of KA Scripts. We also describe the implementation of a tool that uses them and our preliminary evaluations that demonstrate their usability.