Experiments with Expert Systems in Management Education

Abstract

A simple system has been developed using expert systems technology to assist lecturers in teaching specific groups of professional and management students. To enable comparisons to be made, two versions of the system were built; one in prolog and one in an inexpensive expert system shell. The systems were designed to relieve lecturers by providing answers and explanations for examination questions in the area of standard costing. The experiments show that such simple systems can be developed by lecturers for their own use, although there are limitations, especially in the knowledge which can be captured. Testing of the system in practice has shown benefits in terms of reduced lecturer load and positive responses from students. The experiments show that integrating simple expert systems into the education process can be beneficial when the technology is adapted to match the educational requirements.