Knowledge Acquisition using Multiple Domain Experts in the Design and Development of an Expert System for Disaster Recovery Planning

The increasing dependence of organizations on data processing to perform the basic functions of corporate America, together with recent disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes have awakened management to the realization that they require Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP) and Business Resumption Services (BRS). To address these needs, organizations frequently consult with outsiders to help them develop disaster recovery and business resumption plans. Although consultants and vendors specializing in disaster recovery planning are available, their number is limited and the quality of their services may be questionable. In addition, the information gathering process by consultants is a time consuming process and in most cases requires the use of multiple vendor experts, as well as various resources within the customer\u27s organization. This research proposed, as a solution to address these deficiencies, the design and development of an expert system to assist in the determination of the needs of an organization for disaster recovery and business resumption services, as well as the evaluation of existing plans. This research resulted in the design of an expert system for disaster recovery planning. It included the knowledge acquisition processes necessary to elicit information from multiple domain experts. The specific goals of this research were: (1) knowledge acquisition specific to the problems of using multiple domain experts; (2) design and development of a prototype expert system for disaster recovery planning; and (3) validation of the prototype expert system