Genera System Description

Problem solving is a skill that requires application of logical rules and existing data/knowledge to arrive at a solution. Typically a logical solution involves applying knowledge to data/information about a system, performing data analysis and application of decision making rules enroute to a solution. Such a problem-solving process also includes understanding the roles of different parameters that can impact system behavior. A technical specialist is one who can perform all of the above tasks, and Genera provides a framework to facilitate creation of a computer-based problem-solving representation through a sequence of steps similar to the one used by a technical specialist.

In Genera, the user develops an application template with the relevant information (tasks and variables) such that the application contains all the specialized knowledge. This facilitates consultation regarding issues in that particular area (domain). The application template stores different variables that are to be considered. These are all the variables that affect a system's behavior. The data specified in the template provides a trend which in turn forms the basis for the system to generate solutions. The figure below shows an organization of objects in the generic framework for materials and corrosion problem solving.

The values of each of the individual variables for the present situation are ranked based on the existing data. The variables are then combined based on their relative importance to give a cumulative meaning relevant to characterizing the state of the system.

Two key concepts in the generic framework are templates and consultations. Templates are domain specific applications and consultations are instances of the templates. A template consists of related objects, specified so that they represent a specific area of problem-solving. A consultation can only exist as an instance of an open template, (i.e., you can only consult an available specialist). Components of the generic framework can be described as:

• A template is made up of objects.
• Objects are characterized in terms of parameters.
• Parameters (P) defined in terms of their relative importances (I) (on a numerical scale of 1 - 100) and a set of data points form an object.
• The set of data points, representing relevant range values, for each parameter are value-rank (V-R) pairs which map specific data values on a interval scale of 1 - 100.
• Value-rank pairs with relative importances define the quantitative contribution of a parameter towards the state of an object.

A template can be used to define any number of objects. Objects can be specified anew or can be borrowed from an existing template. Each object can be defined in terms of any number of parameters along with their relative importances. The parameters can be defined by any number of value-rank pairs. The figure below shows a schematic of the different relational levels in Genera.

The schematic shows two templates which share objects. The objects form a logical part of a template. The objects comprise any number of parameters along with their relative importances (Pmn Imn). The parameters are made up of a set of value-rank pairs (V-R pairs) which form the range of the parameter.