A Computer Aid to Knowledge Engineering

Advances in the technology of expert systems have made it possible to implement and operate cost-effective systems in complex domains of great practical importance. However, the knowledge engineering necessary to set up an expert system in a new domain is currently labourintensive and requires skilled staff to elicit and codify the knowledge of an expert. This paper outlines a methodology for knowledge elicitation that has been implemented in a computer program that interacts with an expert to enable him to express the constructs underlying his knowledge. Some preliminary experiments on validating the system by using it to re-construct the Business Information Analysis and Integration Technique are outlined, and directions for further empirical studies of the elicitation of accountancy expertise are indicated.