THE USE OF A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING KNOWLEDGE ELICITATION TECHNIQUES

This paper describes the final phase of a research project aimed at in vestigating the efficacy of using two distinct methods of knowledge el icitation, comparing the knowledge obtained via classification or scal ing techniques with that derived from the more traditional interview b ased approaches. It outlines the process of evaluating the knowledge e licited from an expert via a prototype specifically created for this p urpose, the design of which was based directly on the findings of prev ious rapid prototyping approaches. The prototype was modelled to facil itate the evaluation of elicited knowledge along a numerical scale acc ording to predetermined criteria. The use of the prototype resulted in the knowledge elicited via scaling methods receiving higher ratings t han that obtained via non-scaling methods on the criteria of 'correctn ess' and 'relevance', although no significant difference was found bet ween the two sets of data on the criterion of 'suitable for a knowledg e based system'.