Principled development of knowledge based systems-the importance of domain history

MEKAS is a methodology for knowledge analysis originally developed at the University of Liverpool. We examine the role of one important aspect of the MEKAS not found in other methods, namely the emphasis placed on the investigation of the history of the domain under investigation. Practical case studies have shown that history can play a key role in identifying the nature of the domain, and the types of theories it uses, hence determining the nature of the ontological model that the domain requires. Additionally the history gives valuable insights into the culture of the domain which facilitates elicitation, and may suggest the appropriate nature of support that can be provided by computer systems