ABSTRACT

As a complex reasoning activity, diagnosis is decomposed into its constituent information-processing tasks (IPTs). IPTs are described generically in terms of their input, output, knowledge representation and inferencing strategy. How these tasks interact and are integrated form the basis of a framework for constructingknowledge-based systems. It is shown that this framework provides a natural basis for bringing together a variety of technologies into a comprehensive on-line diagnostic system. Examples drawn from diagnostic systems implemented for industrial operations are used to illustrate the integration of various problem-solving techniques.