PRONTO - Ontology-based Evaluation of Knowledge Based Systems

: In this paper we examine some of the ways in which an ontology can be used to assist in the evaluation of knowledge-based systems. Key elements of the support provided by the ontology relate to attempting to give coherence to the domain conceptualisation; making the role of experts in evaluation more structured and less at the mercy of interpretation; constraining the number of test cases required to give good coverage of the possible cases; and structuring the testing to give better assurance of its efficacy, and provide for a possible basis for greater automation of the testing process. The discussion is focussed on the development of a prototype software tool to support the approach and this is illustrated using a simple, well known, example relating to the identification of animals. 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years ontologies have received an increasing amount of attention as a means of supporting the design, development and documentation of knowledge based systems (KBS..