Knowledge that Transforms

Journals and periodicals are a major part of the formal communication system for exchanging information. Through this exchange, a developmental and unifying process that tends to define a body of knowledge tasks place. In today's information age, this process is occurring in the broad areas of data processing, information management, management information systems, computer information systems, and the management and behavioral sciences.

Peter Tait, Iris Vessey, Authors' Response to Bordoloi and Lauer: Problems of Applying OLS/Path Analysis for Estimating Structural (Multi-Equation) Models, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Dec., 1989), p. 387

Telemarketing is a growth industry that falls within the realm of information management. The telemarketing services provided by AT&T American Transtech grew from non-existence to a position of leadership in the industry in just four years. The organization was able to accomplish this feat with a total systems approach using innovative methods for approaching and satisfying new markets. Hardware innovations, including the use of ISDN, along with a humanized implementation have been combined in this successful effort. This article describes the telemarketing service effort of American Transtech and the lessons learned that could be applied to other information management organizations.

Several years ago, Digital Equipment Corporation began using corporate videotex to electronically distribute document-based information throughout its many worldwide locations. Today, information management and technology professionals at Digital are applying their expertise to the evolution and support of the world’s largest network-based corporate videotex utility, serving over 100,000 users worldwide with over 100 major applications. This article describes the considerations for implementing a corporate videotex utility and the benefits that can be realized from this approach.

Logic programming is investigated as a vehicle for structuring and implementing decision support systems, with particular attention paid to those dealing with financial modeling. This approach to model building, analyzing, and interfacing is compared to currently popular paradigms such as spreadsheet systems and financial modeling languages. The logic programming approach is shown to subsume these in expressive power and permit the incorporation of important capabilities not currently available. Examples operationalizing some of the concepts using the logic programming language Prolog are given.

Bull HN Worldwide Information Systems planned and implemented an expert system that is being used for trouble-shooting the maintenance of its page printing system, a complex product akin to a printing press. Important aspects of the design and development of this expert system include stressing people skills, needing an expert willing to have his expertise cloned, and having a knowledge engineer able to translate the expert’s experience into decision rules. This case study covers how the project was selected, how the benefits were determined, and how the implementation strategy has evolved, including future plans for enhancement and extension. Experience with this expert system serves as a base point of how a company can develop its own expert systems strategy, which includes searching for feasible applications, determining the resources required, and establishing the right organizational environment. Expert systems, although focused on a well-defined problem domain, can provide a company with competitive advantage.