An integrated process model driven knowledge based system for remote customer support

摘要

This paper describes a demonstrator in the Globeman 21 project of the international IMS initiative to investigate the use of information technology tools and methods such as the World Wide Web to support remote customers. The focus of thedemonstrator is an Australian company manufacturing CNC plate cutting machines. Because the company has customers all over the world, it needs to provide effective and responsive remote support to customers in the use, maintenance and troubleshooting oftheir equipment. The research in the project starts with an understanding of the underlying logic of human expert reasoning and hence provides a process model which directs the customer through the necessary dialog procedures. A knowledge repository iscreated to capture the knowledge of company domain experts as well as field information available from experienced users. A set of software tools has been created in the project which integrates the process model and the knowledge base and allows changesto be made easily by the company.