ES/EIS/ESS

1. ES/EIS/ESS Rev: Feb, 2012 Euiho (David) Suh, Ph.D. POSTECH Strategic Management of Information and Technology Laboratory (POSMIT: http://posmit.postech.ac.kr) Dept. of Industrial & Management EngineeringPOSTECH

2. Contents

3. Discussion Questions What is expert system (ES)? Why does a company need ES? What are the advantages and the limitations of ES? Explain ES compared with DSS What are the CSFs (Critical Success Factors) for ES? What is Executive Information System (EIS)? What are the key CSFs for EIS? Explain the most important part of EIS Development Process Explain Expert Support System (ESS) compared with ES? Note that there are two different translations for the acronym ESS. What situations are suitable for DSS/ES/EIS/ESS/ExSS applications respectively? (ExSS stands for Expert Support Systems)

4. Introduction to Expert System (ES) 1. Expert System • Definition • Computer-based information systems that use expert knowledge to attain high-level decision performance in a narrowly defined problem domain • Features of ES

5. Important Concepts in ES 1. Expert System • Experts • Degrees or levels of expertise • Nonexperts outnumber experts often by 100 to 1 • Transferring Expertise • From expert to computer to nonexperts via acquisition, representation, inferencing, transfer • Inferencing • Knowledge = Facts + Procedures (Rules) • Reasoning/thinking performed by a computer • Rules (IF … THEN …) • Explanation Capability (Why? How?)

6. Conceptual Architecture of a Typical ES 1. Expert System

7. Application of ES 1. Expert System • ES Application Categories • Decision management • Diagnostic/Troubleshooting • Design/Configuration • Selection/Classification • Process Monitoring/Control • Examples of Application • DENDRAL • Applied knowledge (i.e., rule-based reasoning) • Deduced likely molecular structure of compounds • MYCIN • A rule-based expert system • Used for diagnosing and treating bacterial infections • XCON • A rule-based expert system • Used to determine the optimal information systems configuration

8. Benefits of ES 1. Expert System Capture Scarce Expertise Increased Productivity and Quality Decreased Decision Making Time Reduced Downtime via Diagnosis Easier Equipment Operation Elimination of Expensive Equipment Ability to Solve Complex Problems Knowledge Transfer to Remote Locations Integration of Several Experts' Opinions Can Work with Uncertain Information

9. Limitations of ES 1. Expert System • Processing not available knowledge • Extracting expertise from humans • Fear of sharing expertise • Conflicts in dealing with multiple experts • Narrow domain of knowledge • Highly technical experts’ vocabulary • Rare and expensive knowledge engineers • Lack of trust by end-users • Occasionally producing incorrect recommendations

10. Critical Successful Factors (CSF) for ES 1. Expert System Sufficiently high level of knowledge At least one cooperative expert Mostly qualitative problem Problem in sufficiently narrow scope High quality, friendly user interface, naturally string and manipulating the knowledge

11. Introduction to Executive Information System (EIS) 2. Executive Information System • Definition • A computerized user-friendly system specially designed to meet the needs of top executives and to eliminate the need for intermediaries • Capabilities • Tracking and control • Tailoring to the individual executives decision making style • Status access, namely rapid access to current information • Extensive use of data from external source

12. EIS Development Framework 2. Executive Information System • Development methodology(CSF) • Standard(naming convention) • External & Internal Pressure • Spread • EIS capabilities • Development skills • Cost/time EIS DEVELOPMENT Executive Requirement EIS product • Software(EIS generator, DBMS) • Hardware • Personnel • Internal & External Data • MIS environment(system config.)

13. EIS Development Process 2. Executive Information System STAGE DELIVERABLE I. Preliminary Study Needs for EIS development II. Application Study General Info. for EIS III. Prototype Construction Design info. For Prototype IV. System Design Prototype V. Final System Construction Implementation Plan VI. Testing Full-systems VII. Installation Improved systems VIII. Extension Plan for extension

14. CSF for EIS 2. Executive Information System Committed and Informed Executive sponsor Operating Sponsor Appropriate Information service staff Appropriate Information Technology Data management Clear Links to Business Objectives Management of Organizational Resistance Management of the Spread and Evolution of the system

15. Expert Support System (ESS) 3. Expert Support System • Definition • A computer program that uses specialized symbolic reasoning to help experts solve difficult problems effectively • ES vs. ESS • Characteristics of Problems suitable for ESS • Unencodable problem solving knowledge • Need for a strong user interface • Accessibility and malleability

16. Case Study 4. Case Study

17. Reference Euiho Suh, “DSS/EIS/DW/OLAP (PPT Slide)”, POSMIT Lab. (POSTECH Strategic Management of Information and Technology Laboratory) O’Brien & Marakas, “Introduction to Information Systems – Fifteenth Edition”, McGraw – Hill, Chapter 9, pp. 349~403 Efraim Turban, RameshSharda, DursunDelen, “Decision Support and Business Intelligence systems – Ninth Edition”, Pearson, Chapter 12, pp.530~579 Yunmi Lee, “DSS & ES (PPT Slide)”, POSMIT Lab.(POSTECH Strategic Management of Information and Technology Laboratory) Ralph M. Stair, George Walter Reynolds, “Fundamentals of Information Systems – Third Edition” – Thomson/Course Technology, Chapter 6 Jaimee Swiercinsky, Matt Kipp, “Expert Systems (PPT Slide)”