Towards a manageable solution to the iterative development of embedded knowledge-based systems

The project management, knowledge acquisition, and testing traceability of knowledge-based systems are addressed. Conventional software engineering mechanisms are utilized and woven into a process that encompasses the entire development lifecycle. Over the course of several KBS development projects, a process has been created and a suite of tools that assist in its execution has been selected. The projects have ranged from typical interactive-type systems to embedded and flight-worthy code. It was found that knowledge acquisition is key to the KBS lifecycle. A sophisticated tool, gIBIS, was used to combat this problem. This tool provides a visual and expedient methodology for the categorization of data, its representation and relationships, intuitive interface, and high-level prototyping capabilities. Traditional software engineering mechanisms have been coupled to gIBIS to create a flexible environment for the development and management of KBSs