Chapter 4

Knowledge Application Systems:

Systems that Utilize Knowledge

1
 Chapter Objectives

• Describe knowledge application mechanisms,

which facilitate direction and routines.
• Explain knowledge application technologies,
which support direction and routines including:
 Concept of artificial intelligence
 expert systems
 Case based reasoning systems
 decision support
 fault diagnosis (or troubleshooting) systems
 help desk systems.
Ch
2
 Knowledge application …

• There are three ways we apply knowledge

• Directives
 Applying knowledge without the need to externalize
• Routine
 Applying knowledge by externalizing in the form of
procedure manuals, policies and regulations
• Knowledge based systems
 Automate systems that can perform on behalf of users
 E.g. patient diagnosis – Doctors ask symptoms and tell
patient the type of disease and what medicine to take.
 Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the area of computer

science that deals with the design and development of
computer systems that exhibit human-like cognitive
capabilities..
• The idea of creating computers that resemble the
human intelligent abilities can be traced to the 1950s.
• Definitions for AI range from: systems that act like
humans, systems that think like humans, systems
that think rationally, to systems that act rationally
(Russell and Norvig 2002).
Ch
4
 AI Defined as

• The science that provides computers with the

ability to represent and manipulate symbols so
they can be used to solve problems not easily
solved through algorithmic models.
• Modern AI systems recognized that intelligence
and knowledge are tightly intertwined
• Knowledge is associated with the cognitive
symbols we manipulate,
 while human intelligence refers to our ability to learn and
communicate in order to solve problems
Ch
5
 AI ...

• People are born with a certain degree of

intelligence, which they use to learn and thus
acquire new knowledge.
• Some AI systems try to imitate the problem-
solving capabilities of skillful problem-solvers
• Intelligent systems offer us technologies to
manage knowledge—that is, to apply, capture,
share, and discover it.

Ch
6
 AI ...

• One of the popular area of AI application is knowledge-

based systems, which we refer to here as knowledge
application systems.
• The first AI research was focused on games and natural
language translation
• numerous chess programs were developed
• An other development was General Problem Solver
(GPS) that demonstrated the computer’s ability to solve
some problems by searching for an answer in a solution
space.
Ch
7
 AI …

• Other areas of research within AI include natural

language understanding, classification,
diagnostics, design, machine learning,
planning and scheduling, robotics, and
computer vision.
• In this chapter, we discuss two popular
knowledge application systems:
 rule-based expert systems and
 case-based reasoning.
 Rule Based Expert System

• Traditionally, the development of knowledge-

based systems had been based on the use of
rules or models to represent the domain
knowledge.
• Requires collaboration of a subject matter
expert with a knowledge engineer,
• knowledge engineer is responsible for the
elicitation and representation of the expert’s
knowledge.
 Rule Based …

• Developing knowledge application systems requires

eliciting knowledge from the expert and represent in a
form usable by computers, called knowledge
engineering.
• The knowledge is represented more commonly in a set
of heuristics, or rules-of-thumb.
• Experts develop these rules-of-thumb over years of
practical experience at solving problems.
• This rules-of-thumb must be represented as production
rules or IF-THEN statements.
 Rule Based …

• Rules are the most commonly used knowledge

representation paradigm
• The IF portion is the condition which tests the
truth-value of a set of assertions.
• If the statement is true, the THEN part of the rule
(also action, conclusion, or consequence) is also
inferred as a fact.
• Other paradigms to represent knowledge include
frames, predicates, associative networks, and
objects.
 Simple Example of ES

• IF patient has pain • IF patient has pain

THEN prescribe pain AND patient is over
killers (priority 10) 60
• IF patient has chest AND patient has a
pain history of heart
THEN treat for heart conditions
disease (priority 100) THEN take to
emergency room

Ch
12
 Rule based ...

• Rule based expert systems were among the first truly

successful forms of Artificial Intelligence software.
• An expert system is divided into two sub-systems:
the inference engine and the knowledge base.
• The knowledge base represents facts and rules.
• The inference engine applies the rules to the known
facts to deduce new facts or predictions.

Ch
13
The Architecture of Expert
Systems

• Expert knowledge
derived from
human experts
• Purpose:
 Diagnose illnesses
 Provide
recommendations
 Solve other
problems

14
 Examples of Expert System
based Rule Base systems

• For example, the GenAID system has about 10,000 rules

when it was first deployed.
• MYCIN was a joint venture between Dept. of Computer
Science and the Medical School of Stanford University.
• MYCIN was designed to solve the problem of diagnosing
and recommending treatments for meningitis and blood
infections.
• Teaching Aids such as SCHOLAR which gives
Geography Tutorials and
• SOPHIE which teaches how to detect breakdown in
electrical circuits.

Ch
15
 Case-based reasoning?

 Case base is different approach to building KBS

which is radically different to the rule-based

 The principle is to find a solution which has been

shown to solve problems like your current
problem in the past, and adapt it so that it solves
the current problem.
 Example of case based
reasoning?

• Oops the car stopped.

 What could have gone wrong?
• Aah.. Last time it happened, there was no petrol.
 Is there petrol?
 Yes.
 Oh but wait I remember the tyre was punctured (ban
bocor)
• This is the normal thought process of a human
when faced with a problem

Ch
17
 How do we solve problems?

• By knowing the steps to apply from symptoms

to a plausible diagnosis
• How does an expert solve problems?
 uses same “book learning” as a novice
 but quickly selects the right knowledge to apply
• Heuristic knowledge (“rules of thumb”)
 “I don’t know why this works but it does and so I’ll use it again!”
 difficult to elicit

Ch
18
 How a CBR system works:
the knowledgebase

• The knowledge base contains a collection of

representative cases (of faults, say, if the system
is concerned with fault diagnosis), with their
 symptoms,
 causes,
 and treatments or solutions.
 How a CBR system works:
the process

• The user is instructed to provide the

(relevant) features of the current case.

• The similarity between this set of features,

and the features of each of the stored cases
is calculated, and the best match is chosen.
Example -- Technical Diagnosis of
Car Faults

Ch
21
 How a CBR system works:
the process

Current
Case
284742

134752 135753 134744 284743 144702

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
 How a CBR system works:
the process

134752 135753 134744 284743 144702

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
 How a CBR system works:
the process

134752 135753 134744 284743 144702

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
 How a CBR system works:
the process

134752 135753 134744 284743 144702

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
 How a CBR system works:
the process

134752 135753 134744 284743 144702

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
 How a CBR system works:
the process

134752 135753 134744 284743 144702

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5
 How a CBR system works:
the process

• The features which have been identified as

important in the stored cases, and which the
user is asked about, are known as “indices”.
• Each has a value. In the example I just showed
you, each was represented by a number.
 How a CBR system works:
the process

• If necessary, this case is adapted so that it is a better match

for the current circumstances.
• The case is then presented as the solution, with the
opportunity to examine the 'precedent' case.
• If necessary, this case is adapted so that it is a better match
for the current circumstances.
• The case is then presented as the solution, with the
opportunity to examine the 'precedent' case.
 How a CBR system works

• The sequence of operations, for a simple CBR

system:
•
1) assign indices
2) retrieve a similar case
Flow chart for a simple CBR
system

Input

1. Assign indices

Similarity
Case memory 2. Retrieve metrics

Output
 How a CBR system works

• The sequence of operations, for a

“full-blown” CBR system:
1) assign indices
2) retrieve a similar case
3) modify the past case
4) test the case
5a) assign indices to this new case,
and store as a working solution
OR
5b) explain failure, repair the solution,
and test again.
 Flow chart for a full-blown CBR
system
Input
Indexing rules
1. Assign indices

Similarity
2. Retrieve metrics

Modification
5b. Store 3. Modify rules

5a. Assign indices 4. Test

6b. Repair
Failed
Working solution
solution Repair rules
6a. Explain
 Available techniques for
case memory organisation

• Memory organisation by:

linear ("flat") case memory
case hierarchy
nested cases
decision-tree orientated memory
knowledge-guided indexing
 Available techniques for
case retrieval

• Retrieval by:
Nearest neighbour case matching
Weighted nearest neighbour case matching
Decision tree methods
Knowledge-guided retrieval
• The last four memory organisation approaches,
and the last two retrieval approaches, might be
thought of as hybrid systems.
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm: an example

• Suppose that we have a sick soyabean plant,

and we wish to discover which of a number of
known specimens of sick soyabean plants it is
most like.
Ch
38
Ch
39
Ch
40
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm: an example

• Choose (let’s say) three characteristics of the

leaves that can be represented as numbers:
 Amount of the leaf that is covered by the
discolouration
 Lightness of the discoloured parts of the leaf
 Lightness of the remaining parts of the leaf.
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm: an example

• Suppose that the first two cases to be matched

are:
• case 1: coverage - 8
lightness-1 - 4
lightness-2 - 6
• case 2: coverage - 10
lightness-1 - 7
lightness-1 - 6
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm

• This can be treated as two points in three-

dimensional space:
• x, y, z coordinates of case 1: (8, 4, 6)
• x, y, z coordinates of case 2: (10, 7, 6)
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm
y
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
2
3
4

7
6
5
A system of
3-dimensional
8
9
10

co-ordinates Ch
z 44
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm
y
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
 - case 1
3
2
1
1
0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
2
3
4

7
6
5
The 1st case
represented
8
9
10

as a point Ch
z 45
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm
y
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3 
2  - case 2
1
1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
2
3
4

7
6
5
The 2nd case
represented
8
9
10

as a point Ch
z 46
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm
y
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
 - case 1
3 
2  - case 2
1
1
0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
2
3
4

7
6
5
The two cases
represented
8
9
10

as points Ch
z 47
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm
y
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
 - case 1
3 
2  - case 2
1
1
0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
2
3
4

7
6
5
The distance
between the
8
9
10

two cases Ch
z 48
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm
y
10

 - case 1
9
8
7
6  - case 2
5
4
3   - case 3
2
1
1
0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
2
3
4
6 5
Adding a
7

third case:
8
9
10

(2, 3, 9) Ch
z 49
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm

• There is a simple formula that tells you the

distance between two points in 3-dimensional
space.
• To find out whether case 1 is more similar to
case 2 or to case 3, you simply calculate the two
distances, and pick the smaller of the two.
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm

• To find out which of a whole series of cases

case 1 is most similar to, calculate the distance
from case 1 to each of them, and pick the
smallest figure.
 “Nearest neighbour”
algorithm

• Suppose it was 4 features, or 7, or 100? Would

you have to draw 4-dimensional or 7-
dimensional or 100-dimensional graphs?
• No, it’s simply necessary to have a formula for
calculating distances in 4, or 7, or 100-
dimensional space, and such formulae are
readily available.
 Case adaptation

 "Fixing" inconsistencies between diagnosis and

symptoms.
 Techniques:
 the end user does it
 knowledge-based (qualitative reasoning, etc)
 a fixed procedure.
 Case adaptation

• Note that there is a problem about updating the

case-base with adapted cases.
 Since the new case isn’t exactly like any of the cases in
the case-base, it can’t really be said to have been solved
by the expert judgement that was used to build the case-
base in the first place.
 There is a real chance that the conclusion that the system
came to is wrong in this case
 If wrongly concluded cases are added to the case-base, it
becomes progressively degraded.
 Case adaptation

• Typically, the procedure is to put fresh cases into

a special file, and have the Domain Expert pass
judgement on them before they are added to the
case-base.
 Appropriate domains

• CBR is suitable:
 when the domain is broad but shallow.
 when experience rather than theory is the
primary source of information.
 when the requirement is for the best available
solution, rather than a guaranteed exact
solution.
 when solutions are reusable, rather than unique
to each situation.
 Example of a successful
system

• CBR is particularly used for help-desk

applications.
• For instance the COMPAQ SMART system.
 Example of a successful
system

• The problem was that:

Thousands of customers were calling
Compaq directly every day, requesting
support.
Many of the staff were new; there was a
major training problem.
There was a need for consistent & accurate
answers and responses
There was a need for retention of corporate
knowledge.
 Example of a successful
system

• The COMPAQ SMART system, once developed

and installed, succeeded in solving 85-95% of
calls.
• Typical time to solve a problem was less than 2
minutes.
 Advantages of CBR

• Case-based reasoning:
tends to focus on the problem's essential
features.
can solve problems in domains that are
only partially understood.
can provide solutions when no algorithmic
method is available.
can interpret open-ended and ill-defined
concepts.
 Steps in building a case-
based reasoning system

1. Obtain data for cases.

2. Design cases based on data.
3. Determine the case memory structure.
4. Decide the case retrieval method.
5. Decide whether a case adaptation procedure is
appropriate (and, if so, implement it).
6. Develop the rest of the system (e.g. the user
interface).
 Some currently-available
CBR tools (with vendors)

 Esteem (Esteem Software)

 CBR Express & CBR v.2.0 (Inference)
 ReMind (Intelligent Applications, Cognitive
Systems)
 ReCall (ISoft)
 KATE-CBR (Acknosoft)
 Some of these are UK products, some American,
some French.
 Advantage of CBR over Rule
Base

• CBR is selected when the relationship between the case

attributes and the solution or outcome is not understood
well enough to represent in rules.
• CBR systems are advantageous when the ratio of cases
that are “exceptions to the rule” is high, as rule-based
systems become impractical in such applications.
• In such situation,
 CBR is convenient to incorporate the solution of a
newly entered case.
 CBR provides users with steps to combine and derive a
solution from the collection of retrieved solutions.
Ch
63
 Decision support system

• A Decision Support System (DSS) is an interactive,

flexible, and adaptable a computer-based
information system, specially developed for supporting the
solution of a non-structured management problem for
improved decision making.
• A properly designed DSS help decision makers compile
useful information from a combination of raw data,
documents, personal knowledge, or business models to
identify and solve problems and make decisions.

64
 Capabilities of DSS

1. Provide support in semi-structured and unstructured

situations
2. Support for various managerial levels
3. Support to individuals and groups
4. Support to interdependent and/or sequential decisions
5. Support all phases of the decision-making process
6. Support a variety of decision-making processes and styles
7. Are adaptive
8. Have user friendly interfaces

Ch
65
 Capabilities ...

1. Goal is to improve the effectiveness of decision making

types
2. The decision maker controls the decision-making process
3. End-users can build simple systems
4. Utilizes models for analysis
5. Provides access to a variety of data sources, formats, and
types
Decision makers can make better, more consistent decisions
in a timely manner

Ch
66
 Fault diagnosis Systems

• Fault diagnosis is increasingly becoming a major

emphasis for the development of knowledge
applications systems
• CABER at Lockheed Martin Corporation is one
of the earliest successful implementations of
knowledge application systems for the diagnosis
and recovery of faults in large multistation
milling machine tools

Ch
67
 Fault diagnosis ...

• The milling machines are equipped with self-

diagnostic capabilities, typically they resolved only
20 percent to 40 percent of the systems faults.
• The field service engineers collected over 10,000
records for the creation of the case library that
supports CABER system,
• CABER augmented the self-diagnostic capabilities
of the milling machine, which provided junior field-
service engineers with the necessary tools to
resolve the fault and reduce machine downtime.
Ch
68
 Help Desk Systems

• A system that is developed to support customers as

help desk workers
• For example Compaq Computer Corporation
implemented a help desk support technology named
SMART to assist help desk employees track calls
and resolve customer service problems
• SMART is an integrated call-tracking and problem-
solving system, supported by hundreds of cases
that help resolve diagnostic problems resulting from
the use of Compaq products
Ch
69
 Help Desk ....

• The system automatically retrieves from the case

library historical cases similar to the one currently
faced by the customer
• The customer service representative then uses
that solution to help customers solve the problem
at hand.
• SMART developers reported an increase from 50
percent to 87 percent of the problems that could
be resolved directly by the first level of customer
support.
Ch
70
 Other technologies

• Constraint-based reasoning is an artificial

intelligence technique that uses essentially “what
cannot be done” to guide the process of finding
a solution (Tsang 1994).
• This technique is useful in naturally constrained
tasks such as planning and scheduling.
• For example, to schedule a meeting all the
individuals that need to attend must be available
at the same time, otherwise the “availability
constraint” will be violated.
Ch
71
 Other technologies ...

• Model-based reasoning refers to
an inference method used in expert
systems based on a model of the physical world.
• With this approach, the main focus of application
development is developing the model.
• Then at run time, an "engine" combines this model
knowledge with observed data to derive
conclusions such as a diagnosis or a prediction.
• The system can help diagnose faults not previously
experienced Ch
72
Example - cause/effect model of
problems for vehicles:

Ch
73
Summary of Technologies

Ch
74
 Limitations of knowledge
application systems

• Typically developed to serve a task-specific domain

problem, and not integrated with the organization’s
enterprise systems.
• Security: cases may include sensitive information.
• Scalability: must represent a large enough number of cases
• Speed: as the size of the case library grows to a more
comprehensive representation of real environments,
computing and searching costs will also increase.
• May not be able to solve all the problems that come
across, in particular, increasingly complex environments

Ch
75
 Conclusions

In this Chapter we:

• Discussed what knowledge application systems and design
considerations, including the Case-Method Cycle
• Described the types of knowledge application systems:
 expert systems
 help desk systems
 fault diagnosis systems
• Presented case studies describing details of implementation
of knowledge application systems:
 SOS Advisor
 Total Recall
 OFD for Shuttle Processing
Ch
76