ARROWSMITH-P: A prototype expert system for software engineering management

Although the field of software engineering is relatively new, it can benefit from the use of expert systems. Two prototype expert systems were developed to aid in software engineering management. Given the values for certain metrics, these systems will provide interpretations which explain any abnormal patterns of these values during the development of a software project. The two systems, which solve the same problem, were built using different methods, rule-based deduction and frame-based abduction. A comparison was done to see which method was better suited to the needs of this field. It was found that both systems performed moderately well, but the rule-based deduction system using simple rules provided more complete solutions than did the frame-based abduction system.