The UK Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency, in association with the Department of Trade & Industry, plans to establish a national Expert Systems Methodology. Work on the scheme, code-named Project Gemini, is being carried out by a consortium headed by SD-Scicon Plc, with Logica Cambridge Ltd, Ernst & Whinney Management Consultants, ICL’s Knowledge Engineering Business Centre and KBSC Ltd. Gemini Project manager Alan Montgomery of SD-Scicon said the first stage involves canvassing the views of leading Expert System practitioners to produce an outline specification. Work on the study, which will cost an estimated UKP150,000, has already begun and the consortium is anxious to hear from as wide a variety of companies and individuals as possible. At this stage it is difficult to estimate a total cost for the development, but one source put it at about UKP1m with the consortium putting up a third costs and the CCTA the balance. The consortium aims to have a non proprietary methodology and support tools, available within 30 months. The methodology will be freely available to the industry and to users, and will interface to CCTA’s Structured Systems Analysis other development methods. The project is in response to the slow uptake of Expert techniques due to lack of proven development methods.
