Definition
In this section we are taking about
Desktop Software.
Desktop Software in contrast to Web application are the typical "Programs" you
usually install on your PC. But also within the Desktop Software there are very
different groups.
- Scripts & Batch files
(Non-Expert-systems)
- Console tools
(Non-Expert-systems)
- Desktop tools
(Non-Expert-systems)
- Windows applications (Expert-systems)
- Enterprise applications (Expert-systems)
In general the differentiation between tools and applications is for practical
reasons in many companies defined as:
Tools = Non-Expert systems
Applications = Expert systems
This distinction is quite of importance for any company developing or deploying
Custom made software, as Expert systems are many times more expensive to maintain
then Non-Expert-systems. In this context Expert systems are defined as "Systems
which reflect in algorithmic form the topic knowledge of Experts".
This sounds not dramatic, but in reality this creates in many company sizable
amounts of problems:
Example:
Let's say the Accounting department of a company has many
"Foreign exchange"
transactions and is securing the Foreign exchange exposure through "financial
hedging" (Hedging is a risk reduction strategy whereby investors and traders
take offsetting positions in an instrument to reduce their risk profile). This
topic is a complex topic for which usually the treasurer of the company has an
expert to handle it.
|
In general if processes are stable and are always
repeated in the same manner, then they are naturally good candidates for
building an tool/application for it. Now in the case of "Hedging" the complete
set of decision rules and expertise needs to be "encoded" in the application in
order to replace the Expert. Doing this is often a valid and effective step, but
leads more often then not to the fact that the replaced expert leaves the
company and with him/her also the knowledge leaves. The company at that time
does not feel a negative effect as the application handles the transaction.
Now the real problems starts when there is a change in the "hedging rules". The
company approaches the programmer/Software department and requests the
implementation of the change. The rude awakening comes when the programmer
requests the clear definition of the effect on the system, as he naturally is not
a finance expert, but a software-engineer, knowing how to translate changes into
code. At this point it becomes clear that the Expert is missing who designed the
underlying "Decision process system".
The example should show clearly that Expert systems need 2 kind of people. The
topic expert system process designer, who needs to be an expert in the related
topic field, and a software expert who can translate the system-process-design
in automated code. It also should make clear that an complete and separated
Process-documentation of the system process design needs to be
established
besides the "technical documentation" of the Application.
Tools on the other side do not need "Experts" to design the process
as tool are the implementation of generally well understood processes in the knowledge
realm of software engineers. E.g. a copy utilities, File-synchronization tools,
File-converters, Database-utilities....
Of course the reality is not always that clear and it take some experience to make
the right groupings, but it is essential to make them as they have profound implication
on the operation.
|