This is a well-written book that shows how to design intelligent front ends for business software. The book starts with an introduction to artificial intelligence and expert systems and then presents a good overview of expert systems design. The book consists of 13 chapters, 3 appendices, a glossary, and an index. The chapter headings and appendices are as follows:
(1) Basics of Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
(2) Expert System Design Issues
(3) Problem Selection and Definition
(4) Interface Design: The Old and the New
(5) Guided Data Entry Strategies and Techniques
(6) Data Validation Techniques
(7) A Small Spreadsheet Example
(8) Other Spreadsheet Interface Methods
(9) A Small Database Example
(10) Case Study: Time and Billing
(11) Extending Intelligent Interfaces: Hypertext
(12) Extending Intelligent Interfaces: Hot Graphics
(13) Intelligent Back Ends
(Appendix A) Introduction of Rules from Spreadsheets and Databases
(Appendix B) Using Other Expert System Shells
(Appendix C) Sample Spreadsheet
The author uses Paperback Software’s VP-Expert as the primary shell throughout the book, but refers to numerous other systems as well. The author successfully presents the concepts without bogging down the reader in system-specific detail. However, he does point out system-specific details that are needed for an actual implementation. The book focuses on the problem of the correct entry of data into spreadsheets and databases. Chapter 5, which contrasts standard spreadsheet data entry techniques with those that can be accomplished with a simple expert system, is particularly well written. The book, which is geared toward both the expert system designer and the power user of spreadsheets and databases, tries to unite those two areas. Numerous concrete examples showing the marriage of expert systems to spreadsheet and database applications form the heart of the book.
