Week 11

Expert Systems, Business Intelligence

and Knowledge Management
 What is Expert System?

• In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a

computer system that emulates the decision-making
ability of a human expert.
• Expert systems are designed to solve complex
problems by reasoning through bodies of knowledge,
represented mainly as if–then rules rather than
through conventional procedural code.
 What is Expert System?

• The first expert systems were created in the 1970s

and then proliferated in the 1980s.
• Expert systems were among the first truly successful
forms of artificial intelligence (AI) software
 Expert System

Examples of Expert Systems

• MYCIN
• DENDRAL
• PXDES
• CaDet
 Characteristics of Expert System

• The Highest Level of Expertise

• Right on Time Reaction
• Good Reliability
• Flexible
• Effective Mechanism
• Capable of handling challenging decision & problems
Components of Expert System
Participants in Expert System Development

• Domain Expert
• Knowledge Engineer
• End User
 Process of Building an Expert System

• Determining the characteristics of the problem

• Knowledge engineer and domain expert work in
coherence to define the problem
• The knowledge engineer translates the knowledge into a
computer-understandable language.
• Knowledge Expert also determines how to integrate the
use of uncertain knowledge in the reasoning process and
what type of explanation would be useful.
 Benefits of Expert System

• It improves the decision quality

• Cuts the expense of consulting experts for problem-
solving
• It provides fast and efficient solutions to problems in a
narrow area of specialization.
• It can gather scarce expertise and used it efficiently.
• Offers consistent answer for the repetitive problem
• Maintains a significant level of information
 Benefits of Expert System

• Helps you to get fast and accurate answers

• A proper explanation of decision making
• Ability to solve complex and challenging issues
• Expert Systems can work steadily work without getting
emotional, tensed or fatigued.
 Limitations of Expert System

• Unable to make a creative response in an extraordinary

situation
• Errors in the knowledge base can lead to wrong decision
• The maintenance cost of an expert system is too
expensive
• Each problem is different therefore the solution from a
human expert can also be different and more creative
 Applications of Expert System

• Information management
• Hospitals and medical facilities
• Help desks management
• Employee performance evaluation
• Loan analysis
• Virus detection
• Useful for repair and maintenance projects
• Warehouse optimization
 Applications of Expert System

• Planning and scheduling

• The configuration of manufactured objects
• Financial decision making Knowledge publishing
• Process monitoring and control
• Supervise the operation of the plant and controller
• Stock market trading
• Airline scheduling & cargo schedules
 What is Business Intelligence?

• BI(Business Intelligence) is a collection of processes,

architectures and technology that turn raw data into
meaningful information that drives profitable business
activities.
• It is a suite of software and services that translate data
into actionable intelligence and knowledge.
 Why is Business Intelligence important?

• Measurement: creating KPI (Key Performance Indicators)

based on historic data
• Identify and set benchmarks for varied processes.
• With BI systems organizations can identify market trends
and spot business problems that need to be addressed.
• BI helps on data visualization that enhances the data
quality and thereby the quality of decision making.
• BI systems can be used not just by enterprises but SME
(Small and Medium Enterprises)
 How Business Intelligence are implemented?

Step 1) Raw Data from corporate databases is extracted. The

data could be spread across multiple systems heterogeneous
systems.
Step 2) The data is cleaned and transformed into the data
warehouse. The table can be linked, and data cubes are
formed.
Step 3) Using BI system the user can ask quires, request ad-
hoc reports or conduct any other analysis.
Example of BI system used in Practice
Types of Business Intelligence Users

 The Professional Data Analyst

 The IT users
 The head of the company
 The Business Users"
Advantages Business Intelligence

1. Boost productivity
2. To improve visibility
3. Fix Accountability
4. It gives a bird's eye view
5. It streamlines business processes
6. It allows for easy analytics
Disadvantages Business Intelligence

1. Cost
2. Complexity
3. Limited use
4. Time Consuming Implementation
 Trends in Business Intelligence

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Collaborative BI
3. Embedded BI
4. Cloud Analytics
 Knowledge Management

• Knowledge management is the process of creating,

sharing, using and managing the knowledge and
information of an organisation.
• It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving
organisational objectives by making the best use of
knowledge.
 Failure Factors of Knowledge Management

• Inadequate support: managerial and technical, during

both implementation and use.
• Expecting that the technology is a KM solution in itself.
• Failure to understand exactly what the firm needs
(whether technologically or otherwise).
• Not understanding the specific function and limitation of
each individual system.
 Failure Factors of Knowledge Management
• Lack of organizational acceptance, and assuming that if
you build it, they will come – lack of appropriate
organizational culture.
• Inadequate quality measures (e.g. lack of content
management).
• Lack of organizational/departmental/etc fit - does it
make working in the organization. easier? Is a system
appropriate in one area of the firm but not another?
Does it actually disrupt existing processes?
 Failure Factors of Knowledge Management
• Lack of understanding of knowledge dynamics and the
inherent difficulty in transferring tacit knowledge with
IT based systems (see segment on tacit knowledge under
knowledge sharing).
• Lack of a separate budget.
 Failure Factors of Knowledge Management
• Lack of understanding of knowledge dynamics and the
inherent difficulty in transferring tacit knowledge with
IT based systems (see segment on tacit knowledge under
knowledge sharing).
• Lack of a separate budget.
Promoting Acceptance and Assimilation

1. Adoption
2. Acceptance
3. Assimilation