John Kastner

A continuous real-time expert system for computer operations

The Yorktown Expert System/MVS Manager (or YES/MVS for short) is a continuous real-time expert system that exerts active control over a computing system and provides advice to computer operators. YES/MVS provides advice on routine operations and detects, diagnoses, and responds to problems in the computer operators domain. This paper discusses the YES/MVS system, its domain of application, and issues that arise in the design and development of an expert system that runs continuously in real time.

Experience with K-REP: an object-centered knowledge representation language

An object-centered knowledge representation language is presented, with examples of its use in the FAME (financial marketing expertise) system. This representation, based on the tradition of frames and semantic nets, provides automatic reclassification, value caching, multiple knowledge bases, and an interface to relational databases. The influence that the representation has had on the development of the FAME system is discussed.<<ETX>>

Integrating rules and inheritance networks in a knowledge-based financial marketing consultation system

The integrated use of rule-based inference and an object centered knowledge representation (inheritance network) in a financial marketing consultation system is described. The rules provide a highly flexible pattern match capability and inference cycle for control. The inheritance network provides a convenient way to represent the conceptual structure of the domain. By merging the two techniques, the financial computation can be shared at the most general level, and rule inference is carried out at any appropriate level of generalization. Since domain knowledge is represented independently from control knowledge, knowledge about a particular problem-solving technique is decoupled from the conditions for its invocation. A large financial marketing system has been built, and examples are given.<<ETX>>

An experiment in constructing an open expert system using a knowledge substrate

This paper discusses an experiment in the use of an object-centered knowledge representation service to provide a common conceptual model for the construction of a large knowledge-intensive decision support tool. A core knowledge substrate forms a common resource for a variety of problem-solving activities and a basis for the rapid construction of new capabilities. FAME, a substantial expert system to aid in the financial marketing of IBM mainframes, has been built and extensively tested in the field to validate our tools and techniques.

An object-centered representation for financial analysis☆

Abstract Our experiences with modeling knowledge for a computer-based problem solving consultant in the domain of financial marketing, using an object-centered knowledge representation facility are discussed. Financial marketing represents a class of problem solving activities that are fairly common in the marketing environments of companies that produce capital equipment. Solving these problems requires combining a wide latitude of skills with a vast repository of market data (past, current, and projected). We have been experimenting successfully in the past few years with a prototype system, FAME, that provides integrated interactive problem solving expertise for financial marketing. Our experiences with the modeling of FAME knowledge bases, and our strategy for the engineering and acquisition of knowledge bases required for large-scale expert systems are presented.