Guide for the Management of Expert Systems Development

Book excerpt: This report was prepared to assist managers in the risk-managed application of expert systems (ES) technology. Two problems that have frustrated managers and technicians who might otherwise be interested in exploring ES solutions are the seeming lack of a software engineering discipline for creating and maintaining expert systems and the fact that the software development risks associated with expert systems have not been clearly addressed. This guide focuses on ES development as a software engineering endeavor and emphasizes that, as such, it should be subject to much the same discipline as conventional automated information system software. The guide is meant to be used in conjunction with accepted software development methods and standards, such as Department of Defense (DOD) Standards 2167A and 7935.1, DOD Directive 7920.1, DOD Instruction 7920.2, and the OSD Major Automated System Review Council (MAISRC) Guidelines for Program Managers. This document presents a step-by-step guideline that addresses the managerial and technical risks of each phase in the software development life cycle of systems that contain ES components.