Development of an expert investment strategy system for aerospace RD&E and production contract bidding

A small expert system developed in an aerospace firm is described. The expert system, called INSTRAT, assists managers with investment decisions associated with R&D, engineering, and production contract bidding. These decisions are a frequent and bothersome problem within the firm. INSTRAT is also used for training new staff and as a computerized “road map” or checklist for the more experienced managers. The expert system was written using the OPS5 development language and consists of almost two hundred rules. A survey of artificial intelligence (AI), expert systems (ES), expert support systems (ESS), and the OPS5 language is provided with emphasis on engineering management applications. The artificial intelligence/expert systems model building approach was found to produce a satisfactory decision aid for the firm's managers. This approach was evaluated to be as good as or better than the more traditional operations research, management science, or decision support system approaches for the investment decision problem described in the paper.