Professional Involvement in Development of Expert Systems for Construction Industry

Abstract

This paper briefly describes the development by the University of Salford of the first commercially available expert system for the construction industry. It then outlines some of the findings of a recent study of this system in use. This is followed by a description of the EDESIRL project that is developing the client‐centered approach, an expert system development methodology that explicitly involves non‐IT professionals in all aspects of expert system development. The paper then describes three new systems being implemented using the CCA, and concludes with a summary of why construction professionals must be involved in expert system development projects.