ENHANCING THE SOFTWARE LIFE CYCLE OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS USING A TASK-BASED SPECIFICATION METHODOLOGY

Abstract

Several methodologies have been developed to enhance the software life cycle of knowledge-based systems by emphasizing on the use of both prototypes and specifications. However, these methodologies focus on the development phase of knowledge-based systems. The roles of prototypes and specifications in the maintenance phase has not been fully explored. Because a suitable problem specification for a knowledge-based system is often difficult to acquire, validating changes to non-executable solution specification during the maintenance phase can be a problem. To address this, we propose an alternative paradigm in which the prototype complements the specification throughout the life cycle. The traceability between them is facilitated by organizing both types of artifacts using a common functional decomposition structure. Based on our task-based specification methodology (TBSM), we have also developed a knowledge engineering tool (called TAME) to facilitate the acquisition and the organization of the specification and the prototype. The proposed methodology and the tool together can thus enhance the verification, validation, and the maintenance of knowledge-based systems through their life cycles.