Data processing: artificial intelligence – Knowledge processing system – Knowledge representation and reasoning technique
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-28
2002-12-10
Black, Thomas (Department: 2121)
Data processing: artificial intelligence
Knowledge processing system
Knowledge representation and reasoning technique
C706S045000, C706S047000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06493693
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly to computer systems that ensure completeness and quality of a project.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The human memory is imperfect. Most people are unable to remember everything they have learned. And, even if a particular person has an especially good memory, he may nevertheless be unable to quickly and to accurately retrieve all relevant information related to a particular project. In view of the foregoing, people often rely on various devices to help retain and retrieve knowledge. For example, a baker uses recipes to help him bake a variety of bread, cookies, and cakes. Each recipe contains a list of ingredients and a set of baking procedures. By using these recipes, the baker can be sure that he will not leave out an ingredient or overcook the food, thereby producing baked goods of consistent quality.
A more sophisticated example of a memory assistance device is a checklist typically used by automobile insurance claim specialists. There are many types of vehicles in the market today, and each type of vehicle has different models and each model has thousands of parts. Relying on memory alone, it would be virtually impossible for a claim specialist to provide a reasonably accurate “parts and labor” estimate for a particular vehicle model. Thus, the claim specialist needs a checklist that contains, among other things, a list of parts which require replacement, parts costs, and time periods to install those parts. With the checklist, even a relatively inexperienced claim specialist can provide a reasonably accurate parts and labor estimate.
While a recipe is helpful to a baker and a checklist to an insurance claims specialist, such devices are inadequate for ensuring completeness and quality of a more complex project that requires involvement of many people of different skills. For example, the above-described memory devices are inadequate to assist an automobile manufacturer who relies on a team of mechanical engineers, electronics engineers, designers, metallurgists, materials scientists, psychologists, marketers and lawyers, to design and build an automobile that performs as desired, sells, and meets regulatory requirements. It is clearly impossible for the automobile manufacturer to rely on human memories alone to determine how, for example, changes made to the fuel system of an automobile might affect the exhaust system, the emission system, and the ignition system of that automobile. This “memory” problem is exacerbated since it is not uncommon for skilled employees to leave the company thereby losing individual and institutional knowledge.
Consider a very simple scenario in which the automobile manufacturer plans to redesign the fuel system of one of its automobile models. The automobile manufacturer needs to know what factors must be considered and how many hours will be required to redesign the fuel system for that particular automobile model. The first group of people the automobile manufacturer likely consults for implementing the redesign is the fuel system engineers group. In addition to providing the time estimate and factors to consider, the fuel system engineers group, under ideal circumstances, notifies the automobile manufacturer that it (the manufacturer) should also consult engineers from the emission, exhaust, ignition, and power output groups because changes made to a fuel system typically require redesigning these other systems as well. The automobile manufacturer preferably then consults the other engineering groups as suggested. If each engineer of each team properly remembers both the necessary actions and the time required to implement those actions to redesign each system, the automobile manufacturer will obtain a reasonably accurate project description and time estimate. But the reality is that one or more “key” engineers may no longer be with the company, or those with the company may provide inaccurate descriptions of “necessary actions” or time estimates thereby leading to poor project management plans. Further, one or more of the engineers might employ in work descriptions acronyms and ambiguous words, making it difficult for the automobile manufacturer to accurately predict the true scope of a proposed design change.
Another example of a complex system where a change to one component might require changes to other components is a complex billing system, and more particularly, a computerized billing system of a telephone company. As mobile telephone systems, data lines and other services provided by the telephone company have become more common, billing individual customers for such services has become increasingly complex and requires hundreds of programmers and managers to ensure efficient and accurate billing.
Existing software products, such as CBR Express, available from Inference Corporation of Novato, Calif., which are directed primarily to individual case retrieval do not provide the aforementioned functionality as they are not designed to enumerate and analyze all combinations or permutations of all potential impacts of a project.
There are also other products that are related to document version management, such as DOORS , available from Quality Systems & Software of Mt. Arlington, N.J. These products assign version numbers, e.g., “1.0” to a first document and when subsequent changes are made to that document, the version is automatically updated to “1.1,” “1.2,” etc., along with annotations and dates with respect to who made the changes and why. However, such products also are unable to accomplish the tasks enumerated above.
Also known are “expert systems.” These systems typically are designed as either rule-based or case-based. With either type, however, it is necessary to program all of the rules and/or all of the possible case scenarios that might be encountered. Unfortunately, it is not always clear, at a given time, what changes or modifications to a system might be effected at a future time, thereby defeating the usefulness of both types of systems. Moreover, these systems require extensive programming and maintenance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The Requirements Expert of the present invention fills the need for an experienced, meticulous, and detail-oriented analyst. The Requirements Expert is a dynamic, flexible tool, which uses a knowledge base that is created by one or more users. The Requirements Expert gains additional knowledge each time it is used. The Requirements Expert helps its user to determine what the scope or requirements are for a particular project. It also gives its user an estimate of time required to complete the project. The Requirements Expert further ensures that its user considers every factor associated with that project by systematically asking the user a series of questions.
In a preferred embodiment, the Requirements Expert (“R.E.”) is implemented in a computer system which has a central processing unit (“CPU”), a memory and input (e.g., keyboard) and output (e.g., monitor and/or printer) systems. The computer system is programmed with a relational database and algorithm which facilitates entry, manipulation and retrieval of information from the database. The database can be implemented in any general purpose relational database application such as MICROSOFT ACCESS™ and the algorithm can be written in any suitable application such as VISUAL BASIC™. The information stored in the database is knowledge regarding a particular project or complex system. The complex system preferably is represented as a logical model consisting of nodes and links where each node represents a particular component of the system and the links connecting the nodes represent relationships between any two nodes. Each node, i.e., system component, is further supplied with a list of questions pertaining to that node and information with respect to how that node might affect other nodes. The output of the Requirements Expert preferably is used to provide a listing or printed document of the analysis performed by the Re
BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation
Black Thomas
Holmes Michael B.
Shaw Pittman LLP
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