Validation

Abstract

Having got a working skeletal expert system and some rules for our application, we are faced with the inevitable question: does it work? This, again, is a question that expert systems pose in common with conventional computer systems. In just the same way that conventional applications need to be validated, so does ours. In fact, the need for validation is even greater. Conventional applications start on much firmer ground; the algorithms that they implement rest on scientific laws, established professional or business practices, or equally well-assured grounds. In contrast, what we are implementing is far less assured, resting mainly on heuristics, rules of thumb or, at most, formulations borne out by practice but never subjected to rigorous examination before.