CESA: a case study in the application of expert systems technology to defense research contracting

Because many Department of Defense research contracts require a level of technical guidance and oversight outside the knowledge of the Contracting Officer, it is necessary for research scientists or engineers, as Contracting Officer´s Technical Representatives (COTRs), to provide this expertise in the administration of the contract. The paper presents a case study in the application of expert systems technology to Defense research contracting. It describes the life-cycle development of CESA, a COTR Expert System Aid built to provide assistance to the COTR community in the pre-award phase of research contract administration. In particular, it discusses the selection of a specific contracting problem domain, describes the prototype development process, discusses system testing and evaluation, and describes prototype maintenance during a projected period of extensive field testing. The paper also identifies factors contributing to the success of CESA, and concludes with a discussion of research issues relating to further CESA development