SUCCESS FACTORS FOR MANUFACTURING EXPERT-SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

As a testimony to their success, the use of Expert Systems (ES) has in creased dramatically within and among manufacturing organizations. As the investment in this important area grows, so does the need for an a ssessment of their value. IBM's Corporate Manufacturing Expert Systems Project Center collected information from 55 project managers regardi ng the level of user satisfaction and six of the important factors lea ding to ES development success. Based on the existing literature, six hypotheses regarding the determinants of ES development success as mea sured by user satisfaction were tested. The results clearly support th e proposed relationships between the variables and suggest the need fo r ES project managers to pay special attention to these determinants o f user satisfaction with ES. The report provides recommendations to ES project managers for enhancing the likelihood of project success.