Expert Systems: A Success Case

Introduction

An expert system (ES) is a computer system employing expert knowledge to attain high levels of performance in solving the problems within a specific domain area. By encapsulating expert knowledge and experience, ES enables organizations to support important decision making and improve organization productivity. Today, ES have demonstrated their potential, gained credibility, and are being widely used to solve a variety of business problems in industry and government (Hayes-Roth and Jacobstein 25). Due to its capability to effectively improve the way an organization does business, many ES applications have been used to change a variety of business processes (Acorn, T., Walden, S. 54). SMART: support management automated reasoning technology for Compaq Customer Service. Proceedings of the Fourth Innovative Application of Artificial Intelligence Conference, July 11-13, Washington, DC, pp. 3-18.Acorn and Walden 10; Hamscher, 10; Lazarus et al. 50; McManus and Garland 32; Nguyen and Czerwinsksi, 45; Pierson and Gallant, 30).

There are many examples of ES applications used to dramatically change old business processes. In one case, SMART at Compaq has enhanced the effectiveness of its customer support staff by distributing problem-solving knowledge to the entire support staff at the point it is needed (Acorn and Walden 32). Moreover, QuickSource has enabled Compaq to empower its customers with expert knowledge which allows them to solve advanced network printer problems entirely on their own (Nguyen and Czerwinsksi 45). With the use of ES technology, Compaq has reengineered its customer support strategy and implementation. In another organization, MPSA and COLES are two interrelated systems which offer automated expert support to AT&T's scheduling and customer service staffs by improving and expanding the utility of existing legacy mainframe systems (McManus and Garland 19). At Bell Atlantic, SNNS was developed to provide automated support for the sales-service negotiation process (Carr et al. 37). This system has significantly improved sales efficiency and optimized customer contact time.

Organizational Context

For the purpose of the present study, DuPont has been selected. DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont is currently the world's second largest chemical company (behind BASF) in terms of market capitalization and fourth (behind BASF, Dow Chemical and Ineos) in revenue. DuPont is often successful in popularizing the brands of its material products such that their trademark names become more commonly used than the generic or chemical word(s) for the material itself. One example is “neoprene”, which was intended originally to be a trademark but quickly came into common usage.

DuPont describes itself as a global science company that employs more than 60,000 people worldwide and has a diverse array of product offerings. In 2005, the Company ranked 66th in the Fortune 500 on the strength of nearly $28 billion in revenues and $1.8 billion in profits.

DuPont businesses are organized into the following five categories, known as marketing "platforms": Electronic and Communication Technologies, Performance Materials, Coatings and Color Technologies, Safety and Protection, and Agriculture and Nutrition.

In 2004 the company sold its ...