EXPERT ASSISTANT FOR STRUCTURED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

SPS SHALL UNDERTAKE AND R&D EFFORT TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF AN "INTELLIGENT EXPERT ASSISTANT" WHICH APPLIES EXPERT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY IN CONJUNCTION WITH COMPUTER-AIDED SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (CASE) TOOLS FOR STRUCTURED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE IS TO SHOW THAT HIGHER-QUALITY, FASTER, AND MORE EFFICIENT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IS ACHIEVABLE WITH AN EXPERT SYSTEM ACTIVELY GUIDING THE DEVELOPERS, BASED ON DESIGN METHOD-DEPENDENT KNOWLEDGE (ADDITIONALLY UTILIZING APPLICATION-DEPENDENT KNOWLEDGE AND/OR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ALREADY EXISTING SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS). A FURTHER PROJECT OBJECTIVE IS TO SHOW THAT THIS MORE STEADY AND RELIABLE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT CAN EVEN BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH LESS DEPENDENCE ON THE BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL DESIGNER. THE PROJECT WILL DEFINE A PLATFORM OF SUITABLE CASE TOOLS AND EXPERT SYSTEM SHELLS, AND WILL DETERMINE SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF AN EXPERT SYSTEM CAPABLE OF SELECTING APPROPRIATE DESIGN METHODS AND PROVIDING ADVISORY SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ACCORDING TO THE SUITABLE METHOD.