Editing Expert system (section)

== Advantages ==
The goal of knowledge-based systems is to make the critical information required for the system to work explicit rather than implicit.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayes-Roth |first1=Frederick |last2=Waterman |first2=Donald |last3=Lenat |first3=Douglas |author3-link=Douglas Lenat |year=1983 |page=[https://archive.org/details/buildingexpertsy00temd/page/6 6] |title=Building Expert Systems |publisher=Addison-Wesley |isbn=978-0-201-10686-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/buildingexpertsy00temd/page/6}}</ref> In a traditional computer program, the logic is embedded in code that can typically only be reviewed by an IT specialist. With an expert system, the goal was to specify the rules in a format that was intuitive and easily understood, reviewed, and even edited by domain experts rather than IT experts. The benefits of this explicit [[knowledge representation]] were rapid development and ease of maintenance.

Ease of maintenance is the most obvious benefit. This was achieved in two ways. First, by removing the need to write conventional code, many of the normal problems that can be caused by even small changes to a system could be avoided with expert systems. Essentially, the logical flow of the program (at least at the highest level) was simply a given for the system, simply invoke the inference engine. This also was a reason for the second benefit: [[rapid prototyping]]. With an expert system shell it was possible to enter a few rules and have a prototype developed in days rather than the months or year typically associated with complex IT projects.

A claim for expert system shells that was often made was that they removed the need for trained programmers and that experts could develop systems themselves. In reality, this was seldom if ever true. While the rules for an expert system were more comprehensible than typical computer code, they still had a formal syntax where a misplaced comma or other character could cause havoc as with any other computer language. Also, as expert systems moved from prototypes in the lab to deployment in the business world, issues of integration and maintenance became far more critical. Inevitably demands to integrate with, and take advantage of, large legacy databases and systems arose. To accomplish this, integration required the same skills as any other type of system.<ref name="Wong 1995 141–152">{{cite journal |last1=Wong |first1=Bo K. |first2=John A. |last3=Monaco |title=Expert system applications in business: a review and analysis of the literature |journal=Information and Management|date=September 1995 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=141–152|url=http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=218565&CFID=383824649&CFTOKEN=44575196|access-date=29 November 2013|doi=10.1016/0378-7206(95)00023-p |last2=Monaco|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Summing up the benefits of using expert systems, the following can be highlighted:<ref name=":0"/>
# Increased availability and reliability: Expertise can be accessed on any computer hardware and the system always completes responses on time. 
# Multiple expertise: Several expert systems can be run simultaneously to solve a problem. and gain a higher level of expertise than a human expert. 
# Explanation: Expert systems always describe of how the problem was solved. 
# Fast response: The expert systems are fast and able to solve a problem in real-time. 
# Reduced cost: The cost of expertise for each user is significantly reduced.