R&D Decision Advisor: An interactive approach to normative decision system model construction

This paper describes the architecture of R&D Decision Advisor^TM, a commercial intelligent decision system for evaluating corporate research and development projects and portfolios. In analyzing projects, R&D Decision Advisor interactively guides a user in constructing an influence diagram model for an individual research project. The system's interactive approach can be clearly explained from a blackboard perspective. The system guides the user to choose among general project features but offers flexibility to capture unique project details. Related research generalizes the underlying architecture and addresses resource-constrained decision situations.