Knowledge acquisition from multiple experts: Problems and issues

Abstract

Expert (or knowledge-based) systems are used today either as stand-alone or in conjunction with other computer-based information systems (CBIS) in thousands of organizations worldwide. Often these systems emulate situations in which the advice of several experts is needed or the knowledge required for the systems is so complex that different expert opinions are needed to establish and verify the knowledge base. Also, experts may be geographically dispersed so that it is difficult to find times to meet together. For all these reasons, knowledge engineers may need to acquire knowledge from multiple experts. The purpose of this article is to review the various problems and issues, including approaches to using experts, tools and techniques, and the benefits and limitations from working with multiple experts. © 1995.