FACTORS IMPORTANT TO EXPERT-SYSTEMS SUCCESS - A FIELD-TEST

Some important determinants for Expert Systems (ES) implementation suc cess are field tested. User satisfaction is used as the surrogate of E S success, affording some basis for inter-study comparison, To reduce possible confounding results that may occur due to interorganizational differences, a case study approach to data collection in a single com pany has been used. The company is E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, I nc., which since 1986 has implemented over 1200 ES within the organiza tion, The results underline the importance of seven of the nine hypoth esized determinants of ES success. One of the most important factors i s increasing system usage by establishing end-user training programs w hich desensitize the potential user community to ES technology and dem onstrate its potential as a business tool and as a source of job impro vement, Another important factor is the selection of an appropriate sh ell which matches the business problem, as well as user and developer requirements. Last, the results show the need for user involvement in the ES development process.