A blackboard approach to modeling expertise in corporate settlement decisions*
Wullianallur Raghupathi, Lawrence L. Schkade · Expert Systems · 1993
Abstract: The SKADE system models expertise in corporate settlement decisions using the blackboard approach. The full model has four knowledge sources: General Counsel, Attorney, Manager and Insurance Adjuster. The combined expertise from each of these is required to make the settlement decision. A control component in the model coordinates the activities of the various knowledge sources. Based on the latest data entries on the blackboard, the control selects and executes the next knowledge source. The blackboard model reproduces the experts' opportunistic reasoning processes by the interaction between the various knowledge sources. The results of analyses of a hypothetical case through a series of experiments with the SKADE system indicate that the blackboard is an appropriate model for development of multiple cooperative expert systems in the settlement decision domain. Compared to straight rule‐based models, this blackboard provides more efficient problem solving. The initial success with the blackboard model suggests that further work needs to be done to see whether more complex models can be built to incorporate a broader range of determinants of settlement decisions.