Beerel is an expert in expert system applications. Instead of the more usual material on how expert systems work, she focuses on reasons to use expert systems and how to build them, and does a good job. The strengths of the book include descriptions of the corporate approach and investment decisions, several interesting case studies, and a thorough and correct glossary. The flavor of this book can best be described by its table of contents:
Introduction
Expert Systems: Where Are We Now?
The Corporate Approach
Experts and Expertise: the Real Story
Knowledge Acquisition: the Major Challenge to Expert System Development
Knowledge Engineering: the Real Challenge
Knowledge Structuring and Knowledge Representation
Corporate Culture
Expert Systems: the Investment Decision
Project Managing Expert System Development
Expert Systems Applications in the Real World
A glossary, bibliography, and index round out the book. Readers who want a deeper overview of expert system principles, the underlying software, and other technical issues should perhaps use other sources. After some reflection, I found the structure of the book quite reasonable, although it has redundancies and it can be surprising to find the section on representing knowledge at the end of chapter 7, in the second half of the book and after many discussions that rely on the definitions presented here.
I hope this book can provide additional insight for computer professionals who know a lot about expert systems and who would like to have a better feel for why businesses need them. It provides question-and-answer-style debates for beginners, and it may indicate a direction of development for businesspeople.
