KADS: A Principled Approach to Knowledge-Based System Development

KADS is a structured methodology for the development of knowledge based systems which has been adopted throughout the world by academic and industrial professionals alike. KADS approaches development as a modeling activity. Two key characteristics of KADS are the use of multiple models to cope with the complexity of knowledge engineering and the use of knowledge-level descriptions as an immediate model between system design and expertise data. The result is that KADS enables effective KBS construction by building a computational model of desired behavior for a particular problem domain.
KADS contains three section: the Theoretical Basis of KADS, Languages and Tools, and Applications. Together they form a comprehensive sourcebook of the how and why of the KADS methodology. KADS will be required reading for all academic and industrial professionals concerned with building knowledge-based systems. It will also be a valuable source for students of knowledge acquisition and KBS.

* SPECIAL FEATURES:
* KADS is the most widely used commercial structured methodology for KBS development in Europe and is becoming one of the few significant AI exports to the US.

* Describes KADS from its Theoretical Basis, through Language and Tool Developments, to real Applications.

Introduction and Overview. Theoretical Basis. Modeling Expertise. Modleing System: User Cooperation in KADS. A KADS Domain Description Language. Model Construction. Operationalizing Models of Expertise. KADS and Conventional Software Engineering. Languages and Tools. A Formal Language for KADS Models of Expertise. MODEL-K: Making KADS Run. Using OMOS to Represent KADS Conceptual Models. Shelley-Computer Aided Knowledge Engineering. Applications. The Paint Advisor: A Communicative Expert System. Managing and Maintaining an Operational KADS System. Rational Reconstruction of Diagnostic Expertise. Qualitative Prediction of Behavior. A KADS Conceptual Model of the ONOCIN Task. Applying KADS to the Sisyphus Domain. Using KADS to Analyze Problem-Solving Methods. Bibliography. Name Index. Subject Index.