Techniques for incorporating operator expertise into intelligent decision aids and training

An experiment is presented that was designed to investigate the use of protocol analysis, during task performance, as a technique for knowledge engineering that provides a direct tie between knowledge and performance. The technique is described and problem solving strategies are presented that were found to correlate with optimal performance. The results indicate that protocol analysis adds a dimension to the more standard knowledge engineering approaches by providing a more complete picture of the expert's knowledge and a performance yardstick to determine the most optimal problem solving strategies. Implications for the developers of expert systems and training programs are discussed. (author)