Fuzzy Sets and Expert Systems

Abstract

During the last three decades, the potential of electronic data processing (EDP) has been used to an increasing degree to support human decision making in different ways. In the 1960s, the management information systems (MISs) created probably exaggerated hopes for managers. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, decision support systems (DSSs) found their way into management and engineering. The youngest offspring of these developments are the so-called knowledge-based expert systems or short expert systems, which have been applied since the mid-1980s to solve management problems [Zimmermann 1987, p. 310]. It is generally assumed that expert systems will increasingly influence decision-making processes in business in the future.