Usability of knowledge-based systems; Beyond technical feasibility

Designing a usable computer-based information system is a challenging task. Information systems are costly and require a great organizational commitment. Knowledge-based systems are no exception. To be able to extract domain expertise and encode it in a computer system is not all there is to do. This paper advocates a user-centered view in knowledge-based systems design and development. The ultimate user’s task and the level of representation suitable for it must be incorporated and accounted for in designing such expert systems. This therefore calls for a shift from ‘efficiency’ to ‘adequacy’ of the problem solution, a shift of concern from the requirements of the ‘computer’ to those of ‘user’. The present findings are based on two implementation experiments of a seismic interpretation knowledge-based system.