GDKAT: a goal-driven knowledge acquisition tool for knowledge base development

While knowledge-based systems are being used extensively to assist in makin g decisions, a critical factor that affects their performance and reliabili ty is the quantity and quality of the knowledge bases. Knowledge acquisitio n requires the design and development of an in-depth comprehension of knowl edge modeling and of applicable domain. Many knowledge acquisition tools ha ve been developed to support knowledge base development. However, a weaknes s that is revealed in these tools is the domain-dependent and complex acqui sition process. Domain dependence limits the applicable areas and the compl ex acquisition process makes the tool difficult to use. In this paper, we p resent a goal-driven knowledge acquisition tool (GDKAT) that helps elicit a nd store experts' declarative and procedural knowledge in knowledge bases f or a user-defined domain. The designed tool is implemented using the object -oriented design methodology under C++ Windows environment. An example that is used to demonstrate the GDKAT is also delineated. While the application domain for the example presented is reflow soldering in surface mount prin ted circuit board assembly, the GDKAT can be used to develop knowledge base s for other domains also.