Expert Systems and Knowledge Based Engineering- EEL 5874

Project Report

Computer Troubleshooting
Intelligent System

Team
Madan Bharadwaj
Santhosh Grandai

Instructor
Dr James C Bellows

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Spring 2002
04/20/02
University of Central Florida. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

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ABSTRACT
Knowledge-based systems are often viewed as solutions for problems. A
knowledge based system consists of the knowledge and expertise of a human to
solve a difficult or a complex problems with ease. The knowledge is obtained
from the expert on the particular application on which the Knowledge based
system is being developed.

Computers have taken root into our lives in such unassuming proportions that
today, for someone to use a computer like a car is very common. They know to
drive it but they may not know to mend a puncture. Such pitfalls are manifold
greater when dealing with computers. Hence there is a need to develop an
expert system that will guide a common user in troubleshooting the problems in
his computer. However we intend to develop the system not just for the common
user but also for higher level usage by computer personnel of varying skills
levels.

We found ourselves the perfect situation in the UCF Student Health

Center, where every staff, from the doctors to the cashiers use networked
computers as a part of their daily chore. It was a perfect scenario for
implementing our system, since most users are healthcare workers and have
little or no knowledge of computers but depend on them critically for day-to-day
office related tasks. The network and the computers are managed by a
‘Computer Services Department’ staffed with two fulltime highly skilled personnel
backed by 4 part time graduate assistants. We believe we can add a great value
to the Health center by implementing the expert system based on the knowledge
of the experts available in-house and hence leveraging it for a more fuller and
profitable use.

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Project Description................................................................................................4

Feasibility Analysis................................................................................................5

Requirements Specifications For The Project......................................................9

System Design And Modified Structure Chart....................................................12

System Implementation:......................................................................................24

Verification And Validation Record.....................................................................28

Summary And Conclusions..................................................................................45

Appendix A: External Expert Interview Record.................................................47

Appendix B: Knowledge Base..............................................................................51

Appendix C: Presentation....................................................................................56

Appendix D: User Manual.....................................................................................56

A Note Of Thanks…..............................................................................................58

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Our Knowledge base will reflect the cumulative problem solving knowledge of the
Computer Services department. Since the knowledge was cumulative and the
domain extensive, we had to make provisions for the knowledge base to be
updated easily, so that the system will ‘grow’ with the Expert and can effectively,
one day, represent the knowledge of the expert.

Reflecting this fact the most significant feature about this knowledge base would
be ‘shell’ which we have custom built for the requirements of the Student Health
Center. We have made updating the knowledge base a simple procedure that
does not need any prior knowledge about the shell. We have eliminated the need
for a new user of a system to have a minimum knowledge about the system.

We chose Visual Basic as a front end to represent our ideas effectively to the
novice user and an Access back end to store all the rules and data. The
inference engine which traverses the database for answers is integrated into the
Visual Basic front end.

We have tailored a user-friendly environment, which is at the same time open to

further development.

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F E A S I B I L I T Y A N A LY S I S

Suitability of the Application

1. Does the problem really exist?

Continuing from the previous discussion we can safely conclude that the
problem persists and the expert system will be a very useful tool for the
users in the Student Health Center.
Hence we assign 1 for the validity to the first question.
Weight = 0.2

2. Is KB technique suited?
Human Problem solving knowledge will be reflected in our knowledge
based system. Most of the knowledge is redundant and is gained by
experience. There are lot of small details that are encompassed in the
process of maintenance, which can be effectively illustrated using KB
approach. We assign 1 for the validity to the first question.
We assign .85 for its validity.

The ‘CTIS’ will require algorithmic support with some subtle use of
heuristics to efficiently address the problem on hand. Algorithms will guide
the decision tree and some probability and numeral heuristics will
streamline the decision making. The human heuristic component will be
introduced into the system through rules. We assign .8 for its validity.

The change in knowledge is not expected frequently. Most of the

information is gained over long periods of time and some are very
environment specific, hence we can say to a considerable extent that
knowledge does not change often. But we are developing a system that

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 will accept new knowledge and new rules for future growth of the system.
We can assign .7 for this factor.

The expertise is in fact very well understood and is also fairly

representable in the Intelligent System domain, since most of them can be
represented as ‘If and Then’ rules. We assign a weight of .75 for this
factor.

The input data cannot be assumed correct on all occasions, since users
may read a particular problem in a incorrect manner leading to the CTIS
giving a incorrect solution. We assign a weight of .6 in this case.

Can the problem be solved better through other means? The only other
means would be live support, which may not be available 24/7. We assign
a weight of .8 in this case.

Does this problem pass the telephone test? Yes, it would pass the
telephone test. The information can be conveyed over the phone. We
assign .9 to this factor.

Taking up all the weights together and coming up with a one single weight
for the suitability of the KB system to this problem we get a consolidated
number of .771 which translates into a weight of .308 for this factor.

3. Is KB approach justified?
Considering the domain coverage and the suitability of the system to the
problem, I would suggest that the KB approach would the ideal path to
travel. Add to this the instant availability of the hardware, the software &
expert availability, it makes an excellent project to pursue. We assign .75
for this issue.

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 4. Is there management support?
Mr. Leon Stanley, who jointly heads the Computer Services department
in UCF was very excited and appreciative of the idea when we first
proposed it to him. He is very enthusiastic about the prospects and has
agreed to support us with any test hardware and software we may need.
He is also our expert for our system, which only certifies his involvement in
the project. We have answered this question beyond any doubt. We
assign the number 1 to this parameter which translates into a weight of .1.

5. Is there expert support?

Mr. Leon Stanley as we mentioned earlier is very co-operative and in fact
has a direct stake in making the project work since it would make his job
much easier. We assign a validity 1 to this parameter and a weight of .05.

6. Is the expert competent?

Our expert has plenty of experience in handling Computer Networks and
has been working at UCF for the past 4-5 years. He has set up most of the
networks and equipment in the Health Center and has a solid background
in this area. We assign a validity of 1 which translates into a weight of .05.

7. Is the expert articulate?

Yes, Mr. Stanley is very clear with his ideas and comes out his way to help
us understand the technical problems and their solutions. We assign a
validity of 1, which translates into a weight of .05.

8. Is the expert in close proximity?

Mr. Stanley as mentioned above works at the Student Health Center,
though he has a tight schedule, he ahs agreed to allot time for us too. We
assign a validity of 1 which translates into a weight of .05.

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Assessment

The following table summarizes the assessment in terms of weights.

Weight Assigned Weight *

No. Assigned No
Does the problem exist? 0.2 1 0.2
Is KB technique suited? 0.4 0.771 0.308
Is KB technique justified? 0.1 0.75 0.075
Is there management support? 0.1 1 0.1
Is there expert support? 0.05 1 0.05
Is the expert competent? 0.05 1 0.05
Is the expert articulate? 0.05 1 0.05
Is the expert in close proximity? 0.05 1 0.05
SUM 1 0.883

From the table our overall rating works out to be 0.883, which we feel qualifies
our need to use Knowledge based system for addressing this problem.

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REQUIREMENTS
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S F O R
THE PROJECT

Problem Overview
Since computers are playing a critical role in managing the UCF Student Health
Center where the majority of the users are Health workers with minimal
knowledge of computers the presence of an expert system to troubleshoot simple
and complex day-to-day problems can go a long way in oiling the process. The
CTIS will also be an able assistant to partially skillful and new employees of the
Computer Services department who may not know and cannot be trained to very
minute detail.

User Profile
Most of the users would be doctors, nurses, pharmacists and Health care
workers. But a significant number of others like the Business office staff, the
accounting staff, the cashiers, appointments staff and others would also be active
participants in the system.

Project Goals
The CTIS intends to replicate the knowledge of the experts Mr.Leon Stanley and
his colleague Mr. Jim Kotlaba, who have been a part of the Computer Services
department for a long time. We intend to extract their knowledge and also
provide a way for future growth of the system.

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Knowledge Based System Functions
System Outputs
The most common outputs would be solutions statements for the problem
addressed. In many cases there may be multiple outputs arranged in the order of
their likeliness. Sometimes it may also bring up some documents (docs, HTML
etc.,), which may have a more detailed account of the problem solution. The
measure of certainty may not be the most important thing but it will influence the
choice of the user. In many cases the confidence may be critical but in many
others they may also not matter, hence critical areas may be flagged for expert
approval before proceeding further.
System Inputs
The input data is most of the time complete but may not always be consistent,
since users are not experts in computers and their problems. They may identify a
Printer Driver problem as a cartridge problem and so forth, so the input data may
not be totally consistent.
The data is mostly non-numerical. The problem is represented in proper English
sentences and the solutions are also given the same way. The solutions for lower
level users of the system will be straight forward but with higher levels of usage
the solutions may be more implicit and may assume the user to have some
background in solving the problem.
Auxiliary features
The system will be user friendly and will be in a format that they encounter on a
daily basis on the internet and otherwise.
Implementation Priority
Redundant knowledge areas and usability for lower level users will be addressed
first. As we proceed we will address higher level usage for higher level users.

Constraints
Hardware Constraints

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Sometimes the problem could be with the computer itself and hence the user
may not be able to reach the CTIS. Under such cases the inability to reach CTIS
is a constraint posed by the situation, hence the assumption is that the user has
a minimum hardware capability to reach the CTIS.
Speed of Execution
The execution will depend on the server’s capability to handle the database,
since the Health Center is pretty well equipped one can expect it to be fast
enough for the user to be unaware of the processing time.
Maintainability
There is a database maintenance part, which can weigh on the institution, but
from our interaction with the Computer Services personnel, they seem to think
the task would put a minimal stress on them.
Reliability
The system may not be 100% reliable since it uses heuristic to get to the
answers, but the user can place his trust on the system for consistent answers,
which in the longer run would make it a reliable system.
Security
The users cannot not change the system data, the privilege will be held by the
administrators of the system. The Health Center already ahs a Security policy in
place, which makes the situation far less volatile.

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SYSTEM DESIGN AND
MODIFIED STRUCTURE
CHART

Preliminary Design
Computer Troubleshooting Intelligent System (CTIS) is being developed for the
Computer Services department of the Student Health Center. The system will aid
novice and expert computer users to troubleshoot problems that they experience
on their computer.

Knowledge Representation Paradigm

With respect to our project we were faced with the choice of two basic
Knowledge representation paradigms, Rules and Structures. We chose rules to
be our major representation paradigm for two reasons. One: It is simple to
express and Two: The Rule base and knowledge base can be updated by
anybody with no knowledge of the internal structure of CTIS in the future.
Though in function, from an expert system point of view, they are rules, but from
the point of view of an administrator or an experienced user, it is a structured
knowledge base with all possible problems and solutions arranged in a well-
defined structure to facilitate easy and fast access.
The ‘rules’ are contained in a database, which is structured into levels. Generally,
the if portion of a rule checks for condition, if it is satisfied then the fact
represented in the then portion will be generated. The way we have described
our system, one ‘rule’ fired in a particular level in the database will fire one or
more ‘rules’ in the lower levels of the database (mostly). We have mentioned the
‘mostly’ clause in brackets because most of the times the higher level ‘rules’ fire

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lower level ‘rules’ but on some occasions they may also fire ‘rules’ of the same
level or of the higher level.

Reasoning Method Selection

Primarily we will be using Forward reasoning for the project. But we foresee
situations where forward reasoning may not yield the required results and we
may need to backward reason for ideal solutions.
In the most general case, the user will traverse the database from higher levels
to lower levels in a structured ladder like manner. He will chose from a set of
facts from the higher level fact base which will lead him to the next level, where
he will be presented with more options derived from the present level of the fact
base. This will most likely take him to his desired optimum solution, provided it is
present in the database.
However the very nature of our user base necessitates that we take into account
their ignorance of computer jargon and technicalities, which will disable them
from making any choice at all. In this case we will need to backward reason to
arrive at an answer. It is only in this part that we foresee most of our heuristic
usage. Due to time constraints we could not complete this module. We leave this
part for future development.

Architecture
There are two types of rule-based architectures that are in use, Inference Nets
and Pattern Matching systems. The conclusions that our system will come upon
are not general and are mostly pretty specific. Our system relies on a rule base
to direct the system towards the solution from the previously derived facts. We
don’t find any evidence to say that we are using a Pattern matching architecture.
We would think that the architecture we are using is an Inference Network for the
aforementioned reasons.

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Selection of Human Resources
The only Human resource we actually selected was our expert, since we had
come together as a team even before finalizing the project. Our approach to the
project can be dubbed ‘Democratic Team Approach’ (as recognized by Software
Engineering) where both the team members decide in consensus and proceed in
a cohesive and constructive manner. The fact that we knew each other
previously is helping immensely in co-coordinating group activities.

Tool Selection
Our choice of tools was actually influenced more by the existing setup in the
Student Health center. They are right now in the development phase of a system
to store and process Work Orders using Access and Visual Basic. Access will be
the back end database to our system and Visual Basic will be the front end. The
project as we discussed with our expert will have an Administrator front end and
a user front end. We do not know if we can complete both within the semester.
So we have prioritized the Administrator end ahead of the user end. The reason
why we chose to do that is because the administrator front end is crucial if the
database has to be updated with more facts and rules in the future. Otherwise
the system will be stuck with the rules and facts that we write during this
semester and will stem the growth of the database.

Knowledge Acquisition Method

From what we gather from the books Knowledge Acquisition is done by
1. Interviews with experts
2. Observation of Expert at work
3. Intuitively solving the problem from the experts shoes
Mostly we are using interviews with the personnel at the Computer Services
department to acquire the knowledge. But since a lot of problems could also be
simple we are able to get some information from the help files of software

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products and online documentation. We have not been allotted time enough to
observe the expert at work and hence the second method is improbable. We may
actually use the third method to structure our database and decide where to
place a particular instance of a problem or a solution.

Use of Uncertainty or not

We had planned to employ some uncertainty, translated into common language
for easy user understanding. For example we may use the words ‘Sure’, ‘Not
Sure’, ‘I don’t know’, ‘I am sure’ etc., and give certainty ratings for it which can be
used for calculating the final answer. However we could not complete this module
due to time constraints imposed by the course.

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INITIAL PROTOTYPE
We have been working on the initial prototype after we got the go from you. Our
prototype is basically of two parts. The Back end design and the front end design

Back End Design

We have shown a basic layout of out database design in Access. The picture
shows the table layout with relationships between tables in the Fact Base.

This is only a preliminary layout and is subject to change with the evolving
requirements of the design. We intend to store the facts in the fact base, the
rules in the rule base and the solutions in the solution base. The front end will
take care of the navigation in the database to come up with the right answers.

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Front end Design
We are still working on a suitable front-end design in Visual Basic, We are trying
to create user friendly forms to interact with the user and the back end. The catch
about the front end is that we will be using a dynamic piece of code, which will
query the database with if and then rules dynamically to navigate between levels
and rules.

Login Screen

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 Admin Screen

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 User End Screen

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 Add users to the database

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Let us explain the situation with an example pseudocode.
If
Level = 0 & PID = 1
Then
1. Check Rule Base for exceptions
2. Publish next set of facts derived from the rule base
end
For a particular problem, say a Hardware problem, the PID is 1 and the Level is
0. If these are presented to our inference engine, then according to the natural
flow the process will check for valid Hardware problems in the next lower level.
However it will also perform a check on the rule base to see if there are any
exceptions and if there are any valid facts for that particular problem in the
present or higher levels also. After the check it will present a consolidated set of
derived facts to choose from to proceed further.

It will go something like this.

What is your problem?

Choices are
1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Network
The user chooses 1st option, Hardware. Then the inference engine will check the
Rule base if there any Hardware related problems present in this level apart from
those present in the next lower level. Let us assume that there is no such
instance then, it will present the derived facts from the lower level.
What is your Hardware problem?
1. Printer
2. Monitor
3. Keyboard
4. Mouse

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The user chooses the 1st option, Printer. Then, it will perform the same process
as discussed above to come the next level options for Printer problems. The
process is continues until the user reaches the solution or reaches a point where
there are no more lower branches and the process stops.
In the following pages we have put the facts that feed the rules in the form of a
table. This is the information we have put together well enough to document.
Here is a sample navigation by Forward reasoning to attain a solution.

If
Level = 0 & PID = 2
Then
Publish (Level = 1 & PID = 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
end
If
Level = 1 & PID = 19
Then
Publish (Level = 2 & PID = 1, 2, 3, 4)
End
If
Level = 2 & PID = 1
Then
Publish (Level = 3, PID = 1, 2, 3)
end
If
Level = 3 & PID = 1
Then
Publish (Solution = Connect Printer to Computer)
End

(See ‘Rule Base’ attached at the end for a more comprehensive rule base)

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FINAL DESIGN
We have developed an initial prototype to go with the client’s requirements. The design
decisions are one way or the other a derived result of the client requirements. We intend
to develop more modules with more interactions with our Expert. As of now we have only
got a overview of the cases available, which are huge. We might end up developing the
rule set for a few cases and use our dynamic database design to incorporate further
addition of rules by the Computer Services department personnel later. As you will see
our Modified Structure Chart (MSR) today will have too many branches to expand on all
counts.

Modified Structure Chart

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SYSTEM
I M P L E M E N TAT I O N :

Sample Knowledge Diagrams for use cases:

J:/data/COMP_SERV/CTIS/Transcription_Procedure.doc

Transcriptions Not
Going through
Level 3

Level 2 Medical Manager Groupwise UNIX Novell

MS WORD

Level 1 SOFTWAR
E

Knowledge Diagram for Test case 1

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 In Lexmark Printers, Feed paper one by one, …

PAPER Level 4
JAM…

PAPER JAM
Level 3
(COMMON
SOLUTIONS)

PRINTER

Level 2

Level 1 HARDWARE

Knowledge Diagram for Test case 2

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 Check network cable…

Network Unavailable…
Level 2

NETWORK
Level 1

Knowledge Diagram for Test case 3

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Personnel

CTIS Team:
MADAN BHARADWAJ
Web Site: http://madanonline.tripod.com/
Email: madan_bharadwaj@yahoo.com
SANTHOSH KUMAR J.GRANDAI
Email: santhu79@hotmail.com
Expert
Mr. LEON STANLEY
Email: lstanley@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu

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V E R I F I C AT I O N A N D
VA L I D AT I O N R E C O R D

VERIFICATION

Verification requirements

The requirements for verification of the CTIS system are listed below. The CTIS
knowledge base shall be evaluated for compliance to the CTIS specifications.

The CTIS knowledge base shall be evaluated for consistency and completeness.
 The CTIS rule base shall be checked for semantic errors to verify
consistency and completeness.
 The CTIS rule base shall be checked for syntactic errors to verify
consistency and completeness.
Verification criteria

From the point of view of the customer, the system should be deemed verified if
the verification requirements are successfully met. The customer should have a
high level of confidence in the system’s ability to do its intended function if it can
be shown that these verification requirements are met successfully. A walk-
through of the knowledge base of the CTIS will demonstrate compliance to the
specifications and a completeness and consistency check for semantic and
syntactic errors that may have been introduced by the knowledge engineer when
developing the project.

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Compliance To Specifications
Compliance to the specifications of the CTIS is a paper exercise to evaluate the
system against common issues and original specifications. This section
demonstrates that it successfully meets the first requirement for verification of the
CTIS KB system. Table 1 shows traceability to issues that arise with the
development of a KB application not covered by the original requirements and
Table 2 is the actual traceability to the original requirements of the KB system.

Common KB System Issues Traceability Matrix

Item Issue Traceability Compliance

1 Proper Knowledge Rule Based Paradigm Yes
representation paradigm
was implemented
2 The proper reasoning Forward reasoning Yes
technique was employed
3 Modularity was used in the Modularity was not used N/A
design and implementation
4 System interfaces properly 3rd party system interface was N/A
to external software not used
5 The user interface meets Visual Basic front end and Yes
the specification Access Back end
6 The explanation facility is N/A
appropriate for the intended The user’s manual is been (users are
users. developed and it is in yet to test
Appendix D of this final the
project report. documentati
on)
7 Real time performance Expected outputs were Yes
requirements of the system recorded.
are met
8 System is maintainable to System is built with Yes
the degree specified maintenance and up
gradation in mind.

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 9 System meets the security
specifications
10 Appropriate Security
measures have been
implemented into the
system to protect against
unauthorized modification of
knowledge base
REAL TIME PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM
1 System Input The scale of answers used in
The Input to the system was
selection of various choices
provided related to the
problem faced by the user.
2 System Output
The Final Output of the
System will be the Solution
to the problem user has
selected.
3 Hardware Constraints
The System is been
developed to run on any
Personal Computer and on
any computer on the
network in the UCF
computing environment.
4 Error Identification
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Apart from the network Yes
security measures, the
system is password
protected.
Password protected. Only Yes
administrator has modification
access.
the CTIS application were
something like problem Yes
related to
“HARDWARE”,”SOFTWARE”,
”NETWORK”,”MISCALLENO
US”.
After the user selects his
particular problem like
“Hardware” then “Printer” then Yes
“Paper Jam” the solution
displayed will be like
“Remove tray and Remove
Paper”
The System should have Yes
Windows OS.
 The user will not be able to
go to the next stage until he
answers a question in his
current stage.
If the Inputs are Invalid the
system does not display any wrongly by mistake in the
error message.
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
5 Implementation priorities
Admin End
User End
6 Documentation
The user’s manual will be
developed as apart of the
documentation of the
finalized system.
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We implemented this in the
design of the system. Yes
If the user selects his problem
middle, the only possible way Yes
to correct it is to go back to
the start of the system, this
facility is been provided by
us.
The admin end was prioritized
ahead of every other task Yes
since it was the most critical
factor concerning the future
growth of the system.
The user end is only 75%
complete in view of the initial Yes
requirements. But we had
modeled the system, keeping
this scenario in mind, in a
flexible fashion to aid for the
development.
Yes
The user’s manual is been
developed and it is in
Appendix D of this final
project report.
 The user’s manual will
contain an overview of the The user’s manual is been
system, system developed and it is in Yes
requirements (hardware and Appendix D of this final
software setup),and detailed project report.
usage requirements.

Consistency And Completeness Of Knowledge-Base

By nature of KB systems, the system may not always provide correct answers by
the user. This section demonstrates the second requirement to verify the CTIS
system is met. A check for syntactic errors and semantic errors was performed
on the knowledge base of the CTIS to ensure that the KB system was properly
designed and implemented and correctly represents the knowledge obtained
from the expert.
The following sections will demonstrate a completeness and consistency check
for semantic and syntactic errors that may have been introduced by the
knowledge engineer when developing the project.

Check for Syntactic Errors

The rule base for the KB system was checked for the following syntactic errors
shown in Table 3. To accomplish the check for syntactic errors, the relationships
between the clauses making up the premises and conclusions for each
respective rule were reviewed and compare to every other rule as follows:
1. The clauses in the premises and the conclusions
2. The entire premises of rules with premises
3. The entire conclusion of rules with conclusions
4. The entire premises of rules with the conclusions

Check for CTIS Syntactic Errors

Item Syntatic Error Traceability Check

1 Redundant rules None Yes

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 2 Conflicting rules None Yes
3 Subsumed rules None Yes
4 Circular rules None Yes
5 Unnecessary IF None Yes
conditions
6 Dead-end rules None Yes
7 Missing rules None Yes
8 Unreachable rules None Yes

Check for Semantic Errors

Keeping in mind how the inference engine works, we do not expect a lot many of
semantic errors. However we performed a check and found no such semantic
errors.

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VALIDATION
Validation Requirements
The requirements for validation of the CTIS system to demonstrate domain
knowledge
correctness and solving the problem correctly are listed below.

Validation Technique
The validation technique for the CTIS knowledge base will be done through the
use of test cases.

Validation Test Case Criteria

 There will be a minimum of ten test cases to validate the CTIS system.
 The test cases will be generated by the random selection of problems that
the user would like to know the solution.
 The test cases will be an even mixture of easy, medium, and hard cases.
The results of the test case will be compared against knowledge about
typical conclusions that were extracted from the knowledge acquisition
sessions
 The individual test case is to be repeated once again to validate the
appropriate expected result obtained.

Validation criteria
From the point of view of the customer, the system should be deemed validated if
the validation requirements are successfully met. The customer should have a
high level of confidence in the system’s ability to do its intended function if it can
be shown that these validation requirements are met successfully.
Since KB systems are not completely objective in nature, the test cases and their
respective results demonstrate the validation of the problem solving knowledge
that was obtained during the knowledge acquisition. The knowledge acquisition

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was based on the interviews from the Expert and intuitive techniques with
verification from the expert. The validation of the knowledge base was
accomplished by validating the final results, which has to be obtained.

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 Test Cases
For each test case shown in the following table, the specified procedures must
be performed.

1. Double click on the “CTIS” Icon to start the application.

2. The user name should be entered.
3. The password should be entered.

Our system starts by asking general questions and then narrows down, the
scope of the search as we go along. So out test cases will begin with a set of
options and then depending on the choices we make will deliver answers
accordingly.

S Test Procedure Expected Results Actual results Evaluation

1 Select “Software” Expected Result list Actual Result list Performs
from the list of  Medical  Medical as deigned.
options Manager Manager System
 Groupwise  Groupwise outputs are
 MS Word  MS Word satisfactory

 UNIX  UNIX
 Hardware  Hardware
From the Expected Result list Actual Result list
presented list Transcriptions are not Transcriptions are not
select “Medical going through going through
Manager”
From the Expected Result Actual result
presented list “Transcription “Transcription
select the only procedure”. procedure”.
option shown J:/data/COMP_SERV/ J:/data/COMP_SERV/
CTIS/Transcription_Pro CTIS/Transcription_Pro
cedure.doc cedure.doc

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2 Select “Hardware” Expected Result List Actual Result list Performs
from the list of  Printer  Printer as deigned.
options  No Volume in  No Volume in System
speaker speaker outputs are
Select “Printer” Expected Result list Actual Result list satisfactory
from the list of Printer Model Specific Printer Model Specific
options Problems Problems
Paper jam (Common Paper jam (Common
Solutions) Solutions)
How to set up a printer How to set up a printer
on a system on a system
Network printer not Network printer not
working working
Printer is not turning Printer is not turning
ON ON
Select “Paper Expected Result list Actual Result list
Jam (Common  Paper Jam I  Paper Jam I
Solutions) from Lexmark Printer Lexmark Printer
the list of options  Paper Jam  Paper Jam
solution to most solution to most
printers printers

Select “Paper Expected Solution Actual Solution

Jam in Lexmark In Lexmark Printers, In Lexmark Printers,
printer” Feed paper one by Feed paper one by
one, do not feed them one, do not feed them
all at once, since they all at once, since they
tend to cling together tend to cling together
and jam the entry and jam the entry
points of the printer. points of the printer.

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3 Select “Network” Expected Result Set Actual Result Set Performs
from the list of  Network  Network as deigned.
options Unavailable/No Unavailable/No System
Network Drives Network Drives outputs are
Available Available satisfactory
Select the only Expected Solution Actual Solution
option available Check network cable Check network cable
Check if Network is Check if Network is
down down
4 Select “CTIS Expected Result Set Actual result Set Performs
Knowledge Base”  How to initialize  How to initialize as deigned.
from the list of CTIS for other CTIS for other System
options applications? applications? outputs are
 CTIS user  CTIS user satisfactory
manual manual
Select “How to Expected Solution Actual Solution
initialize CTIS for Initialize CTIS for other Initialize CTIS for other
other applications: applications:
applications?” J:/data/COMP_SERV/ J:/data/COMP_SERV/
Procedures/CTIS.doc Procedures/CTIS.doc
5 Select “CTIS Expected Result Set Actual result Set Performs
Knowledge Base”  How to initialize  How to initialize as deigned.
from the list of CTIS for other CTIS for other System
options applications? applications? outputs are
 CTIS user  CTIS user satisfactory
manual manual
Select “CTIS user Expected Solution Actual Solution
manual?” CTIS User Manual: CTIS User Manual:
J:/data/COMP_SERV/ J:/data/COMP_SERV/
Procedures/CTIS_User Procedures/CTIS_User
_Manual.doc _Manual.doc

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6 Choose Expected Result Set Actual Result Set Performs
“Miscellaneous”  P.C. not  P.C. not as deigned.
from the set of connecting to connecting to System
options the internet. the internet. outputs are
 Cannot Login.  Cannot Login. satisfactory
 Poured coffee  Poured coffee
over the over the
keyboard. keyboard.
Keyboard not Keyboard not
working working
 Set time on  Set time on
computer computer
 Schedule Disk  Schedule Disk
cleanups cleanups
Choose “PC not Expected Solution Actual Solution
connecting to P.C. not connecting to P.C. not connecting to
internet” from the the internet : the internet :
set of options 1. Remove 1. Remove
unnecessary programs. unnecessary programs.
2. Clear temporary files 2. Clear temporary files
from Netscape or from Netscape or
Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer.

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7 Choose Expected Result Set Actual Result Set Performs
“Miscellaneous”  P.C. not  P.C. not as deigned.
from the set of connecting to connecting to System
options the internet. the internet. outputs are
 Cannot Login.  Cannot Login. satisfactory
 Poured coffee  Poured coffee
over the over the
keyboard. keyboard.
Keyboard not Keyboard not
working working
 Set time on  Set time on
computer computer
 Schedule Disk  Schedule Disk
cleanups cleanups
Choose “cannot Expected Solution Actual Solution
Login” Login : Login :
If CAPSLOCK is on, If CAPSLOCK is on,
turn it off and login turn it off and login
again. again.

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8 Choose Expected Result Set Actual Result Set Performs
“Miscellaneous”  P.C. not  P.C. not as deigned.
from the set of connecting to connecting to System
options the internet. the internet. outputs are
 Cannot Login.  Cannot Login. satisfactory
 Poured coffee  Poured coffee
over the over the
keyboard. keyboard.
Keyboard not Keyboard not
working working
 Set time on  Set time on
computer computer
 Schedule Disk  Schedule Disk
cleanups cleanups
Choose “Poured Expected solution Actual Solution
coffee over the Poured coffee over the Poured coffee over the
keyboard. keyboard. Keyboard keyboard. Keyboard
Keyboard not not working not working
working” Replace Keyboard. Replace Keyboard.

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9 Choose Expected Result Set Actual Result Set Performs
“Miscellaneous”  P.C. not  P.C. not as deigned.
from the set of connecting to connecting to System
options the internet. the internet. outputs are
 Cannot Login.  Cannot Login. satisfactory
 Poured coffee  Poured coffee
over the over the
keyboard. keyboard.
Keyboard not Keyboard not
working working
 Set time on  Set time on
computer computer
 Schedule Disk  Schedule Disk
cleanups cleanups
Choose “Set time Expected Solution Actual Solution
on System” Change time settings Change time settings
on the Computer: on the Computer:
Double Click on the Double Click on the
right bottom corner of right bottom corner of
the taskbar and change the taskbar and change
the settings as you the settings as you
wish. (You need to wish. (You need to
have admin status to have admin status to
change settings) change settings)

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10 Choose Expected Result Set Actual Result Set Performs
“Miscellaneous”  P.C. not  P.C. not as deigned.
from the set of connecting to connecting to System
options the internet. the internet. outputs are
 Cannot Login.  Cannot Login. satisfactory
 Poured coffee  Poured coffee
over the over the
keyboard. keyboard.
Keyboard not Keyboard not
working working
 Set time on  Set time on
computer computer
 Schedule Disk  Schedule Disk
cleanups cleanups
Choose Expected Solution Actual Solution
“Schedule Disk Schedule Disk Schedule Disk
cleanups” cleanups: cleanups:
Click on the Scheduler Click on the Scheduler
on the task bar or go to on the task bar or go to
Programs/Accessories/ Programs/Accessories/
System/Scheduler and System/Scheduler and
set the disk clean set the disk clean
routine when you want routine when you want
it. it.

There were no errors of commission or omission discovered during the

implementation of the test cases.

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V&V CONCLUSION

The customer should have a high level of confidence in the system’s ability to do
its intended function due to the successful verification and validation meeting the
specified requirements. The requirements of the V&V of the CTIS system were
successfully completed with documented results, therefore the system should be
deemed verified and validated. Successfully implemented test cases
demonstrate validation of the system. Since KB systems are not completely
objective in nature and there were a limited number of test cases the potential for
user’s risk may exist. However the system can be trusted to provide consistent
results over a wide database.

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SUMMARY AND
CONCLUSIONS

Lessons Learnt
 “Customer is the King”. We had a lot options that had to be decided
based on the requirements of the customer. One of the main things was to
decide whether to do our project using “CLIPS” or “VISUAL BASIC”. As
the people who are going to use CTIS do not know much about
computers, we thought that it would be hard to explain how to use CLIPS.
We wanted the system to be more user friendly and so finally we decided
to use “VISUAL BASIC” as our front end.

 Expert must have time. As our Expert Mr. Leon Stanley is the head of
the computer services department in the student health center, he is a
very busy man and has very little time to offer. So found it hard to meet
him and talk to him about the problems faced and the solutions for it.

 Passive learning is important. We could really see people coming and

complaining in the computer services department in student health
services stating that their printer is not working and when we went and
saw it was due to simple mistakes like not giving a print command in the
first place. We understood the need to make the system simple and user
friendly.

 Start the project early. Initially we were planning to do a project on

Intelligent FEEDS System, we had done the Feasibility Analysis for that
project but as it was a high-risk project we had to decide on a change in

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 the project idea itself. The delay reflected through out the project. But we
do consider it an triumph of sorts to have completed the minimum
requirements as dictated by both the course and the customer.

Number Of Rules: 86 rules.

Total Hours Spent: 134 hours
Analysis : 8 hrs
Specification : 13 hrs
Design : 12 hrs
Development of Shell : 30 hrs
Prototype development : 15 hrs
Implementation : 12 hrs
Validation : 8 hrs
Verification : 8 hrs
Final design : 10 hrs
Meetings : 8 hrs
Documentation : 10 hrs

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APPENDIX A:
EXTERNAL EXPERT
INTERVIEW RECORD

Meeting Number Date Reference

1 March 16,2002 Meeting Minutes 1
2 March 17,2002 Meeting Minutes 2
3 March 24,2002 Meeting Minutes 3
4 April 4,2002 Meeting Minutes 4

CTIS – Meeting Minutes 1

Date: March 16,2002
Time: 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Location: UCF, Computer Services, Student Health Center (Mr. Leon Stanley’s
office)
Attendees: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj, and Mr. Leon
Stanley
Subject: Initial meeting and Knowledge extraction
Minutes by: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj.

1. Mr. Leon Stanley agreed to be our expert and we started discussing about
the various issues involved in the project.
2. The discussion of which tool to use for the development of intelligent
system was discussed but did not come to a conclusion.

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 3. A brief discussion about the basic problems faced by the user and those of
which can be implemented in the system.
Problem
Printer Problems
Email attachment opening?
Setting rules in emails?
Software not working properly, Wanted
to be reinstalled?
Network problems?
Common problems in receiving and
sending emails
Problems in using MSWord, MSExcel
Common hardware problems.
Login problems
Internet problems.
Basic Computer Operation
Can it be solved by the user itself?
Not all, but some kind of problems like
Paper jam, No power supply.
Yes
Yes.
No, only the computer services. People
can reinstall it.
Not all, but can check whether the
network connection is hooked up.
Maybe
Yes
Not all.
Yes, most of the user’s type login and
password with CAPSLOCK on. But at
some circumstances they will need our
help.
Not all
Yes

4. A second meeting will be scheduled during the design and Initial prototype
phase.

CTIS – Meeting Minutes 2

Date: March 17,2002
Time: 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Location: UCF, Computer Services, Student Health Center (Mr. Leon Stanley’s
office)
Attendees: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj, and Mr. Leon
Stanley
Subject: Knowledge extraction

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Minutes by: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj.

1. Finalized the use of tool to develop our intelligent system. We agreed to

use Visual Basic as our front end and MS Access as our backend.
2. Due to the lack of time for Mr. Leon Stanley, we agreed to contact through
email more often incase there is any problem and if there are any doubts.
3. We went through the records of problems solved by the computer service
people monthly and noted down the problems, which the user can solve it
and discussed about it in a detailed way with Mr. Leon Stanley.
4. Discussed with Mr. Leon Stanley about the initial design briefly.
5. The next meeting was scheduled to demonstrate the prototype.

CTIS – Meeting Minutes 3

Date: March 24,2002

Time: 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 a.m.
Location: UCF, Computer Services, Student Health Center (Mr. Leon Stanley’s
office)
Attendees: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj, and Mr. Leon
Stanley
Subject: CTIS Prototype
Minutes by: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj.

1. Showed Mr. Leon Stanley our initial design with some problems
implemented and with the solution. We were advised to make some minor
changes, which had to be implemented, and we noted the same.
2. Other than the changes, which he had told to do, he was impressed with
the system.

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 3. Again we spent time going through the monthly problem solved report and
noted down some of the problems which can be solved by the user to
implement it in the system.
4. Email contacts were done more often before the last meeting to clear our
doubts.

CTIS – Meeting Minutes 4

Date: April 12,2002

Time: 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 a.m.
Location: UCF, Computer Services, Student Health Center (Mr. Leon Stanley’s
office)
Attendees: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj, and Mr. Leon
Stanley
Subject: CTIS.
Minutes by: Santhosh Kumar J.Grandai, Madan Bharadwaj.

1. The 90 % completed design was shown to Mr. Leon Stanley and we had
trouble initially installing in their system, but we took time to solve it.
2. The System worked fine and there was an 85% agreement by the expert
with our system.
3. Mr. Leon Stanley told us to implement a problem and solution in the
system, we did it before him and selected the problem step by step and it
gave the correct solution. ”SUCCESS”. So the system worked fine
meeting it’s specifications.
4. We thanked Mr. Leon Stanley for helping us to develop the system.

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APPENDIX B:
KNOWLEDGE BASE

Fact Base
Table 0

PID Problem_Description Prev_ID Branches

63 Software 0 Yes
64 Hardware 0 Yes
65 Network 0 Yes
66 Miscellaneous 0 Yes
67 CTIS Knowledge Base 0 Yes

Table 1

PID Problem_Description Prev_ID Branches

30 Printer 64 Yes
31 No volume in Speaker 64 No
32 Medical Manager 63 Yes
33 Network Unavailable/ No Network Drives 65 No
34 Groupwise 63 Yes
35 MS Word 63 Yes
36 UNIX 63 Yes
37 P.C. not connecting to the internet. 66 No
38 Cannot Login. 66 No
39 NOVELL 63 Yes
40 Monitor screen blank 64 No
41 Keyboard keys not working 64 No
42 Mouse not moving properly 64 No
43 Floppy Drive not working 64 No
44 How to install Zip drive (removable Drive)? 64 No
45 How to install headphones and mikes? 64 No
46 How to install CD writer? 64 No
47 How to initialize CTIS for other 67 No
48 Network very slow 65 No
49 Internet not available 65 No
50 Genral Info about the 'Student Health 65 No
51 Network Configuration Specifications 65 No
52 Client Operating System (OS) 63 Yes
53 CTIS user manual 67 No
54 Poured coffee over the keyboard. 66 No

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 55 How to eject Zip disk from drive? 64 No
56 How to modify Monitor settings? 64 No
57 Set time on computer 66 No
58 Schedule Disk cleanups 66 No

Table 2

PID Problem_Description Prev_ID Branches

20 Printer Model specific problems. 30 Yes
21 Paper Jam (Common Solution) 30 No
23 Where to find Email attachments? 34 No
24 How to add new contacts to your address 34 No
26 How to Print? 35 No
27 How to insert picture in Word? 35 No
28 How to insert a table in word? 35 No
29 How to align a Paragraph in Word? 35 No
30 Transcriptions are not going through. 32 No
31 Restart UNIX Server 36 No
32 How to set up a printer on a system? 30 No
33 Network printer not working. 30 No
34 Printer is not turing ON. 30 No
35 How to Copy a text in Word?. 26 No
36 How to Copy in Word?. 35 No
37 Test connection failed 34 No
38 Test Connection failed 30 No
39 No Network Drives after loggingto Novell 39 No
40 How to set default user login to local 39 No
41 How to replace your Address Book with the 34 No
42 Network Priter is conected but is not priting 30 No
43 How to instal new driver for Printer? 30 No
44 How to insert Clip art? 35 No
45 Clipart not available 35 No
46 Word is giving error and opening up Visual 35 No
47 How to align pictures and objects in word? 35 No
48 How to save word file as HTML? 35 No
49 How to set Hyperlink? 35 No
50 How to see Print Preview? 35 No
51 How to draw objects in Word? 35 No
52 How to insert Word Art? 35 No
53 How to spell check in word? 35 No
54 How to insert an image from the scanner 35 No
55 How to add custom styles to your Word 35 No
56 How to add Themes to your document? 35 No
57 How to set the default save location for 35 No
58 How to disable drag and drop editing? 35 No
59 Nothing is getting printed 30 No
60 Windows 2000 52 Yes

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 61 DOS 52 Yes
62 Win NT 52 Yes
63 POS is not working 32 No
64 How to Mail Merge? 35 No

Table 3

PID Problem_Description Prev_ID Branches

9 Lexmark Printer 20 Yes
12 Installing Windows 2000 in system 60 No
13 Installing DOS 61 No
14 Installing WIN NT 62 No
15 HP Models 20 Yes
16 Schedule Disk cleanups 60 No
17 Schedule Disk cleanups: 62 No

Table 4

PID Problem_Description Prev_ID Branches

2 Paper Jam in Lexmark Printer 90
3 HP LJ Model Driver Problems 15 0

Table Rule_base

Host_Level Host_PID Friend_Level Friend_PID

-1 -1 -1 -1
2 21 4 2
2 22 1 33
0 63 0 64

Table Solution_Base

Level Host_PID Solution

4 2 In Lexmark Printers, Feed paper one by one, do not feed
4 3 HP LJ Model Driver Problems:
3 12 Installing Windows 2000:
3 13 Installing DOS
3 14 Install Win NT:
3 16 Schedule Disk cleanups:
3 17 Schedule Disk cleanups:
2 21 Paper Jam Solution to Most Printers:
2 23 Email attachment :
2 24 Add new contacts in address book :
2 26 Printing a Word Document :
2 27 Insert picture in Word :
2 28 Insert Table in Word.
2 29 Insert link

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 2 30 Transcription Procedure :
1 31 No volume in Speaker
2 31 Restart UNIX Server Procedure :
2 32 Printer Setup Procedure
1 33 1. Check Network Cable
2 33 Network printer not working :
2 34 Printer is not turning ON :
2 35 Copying text in Word :
2 36 COPY in Word :
2 37 Test connection failed :
1 37 P.C. not conneting to the internet :
2 38 Test connection failed :
1 38 Login :
2 39 Network Drives in NOVELL
2 40 Set Default Loginto System:
1 40 Monitor Screen blank:
2 41 Update Address Book:
1 41 Keyboard Keys not working:
2 42 Network Priter connected but not printing:
1 42 Mouse not moving properly:
1 43 Floppy Drive not working:
2 43 NEw Driver Installation:
1 44 Zip Drive Instal Procedure:
2 44 Insert CLIP ART:
1 45 Installing headphones and mike set:
2 45 Clipart not available:
1 46 Installing CD Writer:
2 46 There could be macros embedded in your file. Disable
2 47 Aligning Objects in Word:
1 47 Initialize CTIS for other applications:
2 48 Saving word file as HTML:
1 48 Restart system, temporary files may be slowing down
2 49 Setting Hyperlink in Word:
1 49 Check if network connection is available.
2 50 Print Preview:
1 50 Refer J:/data/COMP_SERV/Procedures/SHC_Nw.doc
2 51 Draw in Word:
1 51 Network Configuration Specifications:
2 52 Word Art:
2 53 Spell Checker in Word:
1 53 CTIS User Manual:
2 54 Using Scanner or the Camera:
1 54 Poured coffee over the keyboard. Keyboard not working
2 55 Custom Style Sheets:
1 55 Eject Zip disk from drive:
2 56 Themes in Word:
1 56 Modify Monitor Settings:

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 2 57 Go to Tools/Options and in the File Locations tab choose
1 57 Change time settings on the Computer:
2 58 Drag and Drop editing in word:
2 58 Mail Merge:
1 58 Schedule Disk cleanups:
2 59 Nothing is getting printed:
2 63 POS Procedure:

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APPENDIX C:
P R E S E N TAT I O N
It has been handed over to Dr.Bellows personally after our presentation.

APPENDIX D: USER
MANUAL

Software Constraints:

 The system must have any version of Windows operating system.

 The system must have Microsoft Access database, if it is not in the
network. If the system is in the network, it is not necessary to have
Microsoft Access database.

Hardware constraints:

The system must have the below specifications for normal operation of CTIS.

 133 MHz Processor (or) higher speed.

 540 MB Hard disk (or) greater.
 16 MB RAM (or) greater.

Installation:

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1. Installation in the Network :

 In the server install in the network directory the CTIS database –

CTIS.mdb, which we have created. Note : Make sure it is in the network
directory.
 The executable file created CTIS.exe can be saved in any directory in
your hard disk.
 To run the CTIS application, double click on the “CTIS.exe” File.

2. Installation in the Personal Computer :

 Create a folder CTIS in the C-drive.

 Save the file CTIS.mdb in the created directory “CTIS”.
 Also save the file CTIS.exe in the created directory “CTIS”.
 To run the CTIS application, double click on the “CTIS.exe” File.
Note : Make sure that the CTIS.mdb and CTIS.exe files are under the same
directory “CTIS”.

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A NOTE OF THANKS…

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr James C

Bellows for being with us through out this unique venture.
We understand we could not have walked this less treaded
path without your support.
Thank you sir.

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