THE COMMONKADS LIBRARY IN PERSPECTIVE

The CommonKADS Expertise Modeling Library is the result of work that s tarted as a further development of the KADS Library of interpretation models (Breuker et al., 1987). It incorporates new views and experienc es of the knowledge acquisition community on the reuse of problem-solv ing components, in particular problem-solving methods and their assump tions on domain knowledge. Its design allows to store and index an ext ensible set of modeling components of different levels of granularity, as well as generic (partial) models of expertise and even reusable mo deling steps. Further, its contents were significantly expanded, in wh at is probably the largest library of problem solving methods presentl y. In this article, we explain the rationale of the design of the Comm onKADS library, the mechanisms defined to index the elements it stores , and the Library contents. An example of the use of a part of the Lib rary concerned with problem-solving methods for assessment tasks is pr esented. The Library is not a finished product: not only because still many contents may need further verification and validation, but also because the Library is intended to accumulate and share practical expe riences and advice on the process of modeling for actual applications. These and other shortcomings and lessons are discussed. (C) 1998 Acad emic Press.