AI Paper - Class Selection Advisor for Graduate Student

8/9/2019 AI Paper - Class Selection Advisor for Graduate Student

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Intelligent System Development at FTSM-UKM:

Implementing Expert System as Graduate Student Class

Selection Advisor by Using ExSys CORVID

Doli Anggia Harahap, Syafrani Fithri1

1Departement of Management Information System

Faculty of Information Science and Technology

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

[email protected] , [email protected]

Abstract. Today Information Technology has growth very fast. It has pushed

the innovations creation in course of study. FTSM-UKMs staffs have a lot of

work every new semester specially in overcoming registration problem.

Students also always face a small problem in specifying class to be taken for the

next or current semester. Students also need a guidance to assist them for

choosing the best class for them to be taken. This paper is proposed a

commercial expert system called ExSys Corvid for helping member of FTSM-

UKM solve their problem for every new semester.

Keywords: Intelligent System, Expert System, FTSM, UKM, Graduate Student

1 Introduction

Fakulti Teknologi dan Sains Maklumat (FTSM) is one of faculty in Universiti

Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Back to the history, UKM for the first time, offering

computer science courses. As well as development of UKM, the Computer Sciences

unit became a Department of Computer Science. By that time, this Department has

already offered program for Bachelor's Degree, Master Degree, and Doctorate levels.

Since Malaysia started focusing Information Technology as one of main Industry in

Malaysia, Department of Computer Science again was upgraded the status became a

Faculty of Information Science and Technology. And now, the numbers of students

are increasing for each year, especially the number of Graduate students1.

In academic matters, of course students need guidance and advice from their

lecturers, advisor, supervisor, or even the head of each department. In fact, students

are very confusing or need someone expert to guide them for choosing class they have

1 From now until the end of this paper, every word of student(s) mentioned in this

paper means Graduate Students of UKM).
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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to attend, based on their interests, previous results, previous experiences, or other

things. These things become a little problem as the limitation number of lecturers who

can be an advisor to the students. Finding appropriate timing between students and

their advisor has also become constraint.

From the problems above, expert system in educational field can be a solution, at

least to help lecturers give advice to the students, and of course help students make

decision for choosing which classes to attend. Expert system with decision-support

technique will be discussed in this paper.

1.1 Overview of FTSM-UKM

FTSM-UKM is lead by a Dean as a Head Manager for administration in FTSM. TheDean is assisted by two Deputy Dean. First Deputy Dean is responsible for handling

research, international relation, and industry. The second one is responsible for

handling undergraduate, alumni, and community partnership.

FTSM-UKM consisted of 4 departments that for each department is lead by a Head

of Department. The departments are Department of Computer Science, Department of

Information System, Department of Science and System Management, and

Department of Industrial Computing.

The Computer Science Department is responsible for conducting programmes of

studies that produce graduated who possess the necessary knowledge and skill for

spearheading and developing the software industry of the nation.

The aim of the System Science Management Department is to increase and

enhance to knowledge and the scholar in the Concept and Development Methodology.The Objective of the department of Information Science, though its graduate

programme, is to produce scholar with high degree of expertise in the field of

information access and multimedia study.

The objective of the Industrial Computing Programme is aimed to produce skilled

graduate and professional in utilizing information technology into production industry

and manufacturing.

Graduate Student Center Department is for helping graduate students in

administration matters, and provides facilities that graduate students need. In every

new semester this department is faced with a lot of work to handle students problem

in registration class.

2 Intelligent System

Intelligence is the computational part of the ability to achieve goals in the world.

Varying kinds and degrees of intelligence occur in people, many animals and some

machines. Intelligence is their ability to understand and learn things. Intelligence is


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the ability to think and understand instead of doing things by instinct or

automatically2.

Artificial Intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent

machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of

using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine

itself to methods that are biologically observable.

2.1 Concept and Definition of Expert System

Knowledge-based expert systems, or simply expert systems, use human knowledge to

solve problems that normally would require human intelligence. These expert systems

represent the expertise knowledge as data or rules within the computer. These rulesand data can be called upon when needed to solve problems. Books and manuals have

a tremendous amount of knowledge but a human has to read and interpret the

knowledge for it to be used. Conventional computer programs perform tasks using

conventional decision-making logic -- containing little knowledge other than the basic

algorithm for solving that specific problem and the necessary boundary conditions.

This program knowledge is often embedded as part of the programming code, so that

as the knowledge changes, the program has to be changed and then rebuilt.

Knowledge-based systems collect the small fragments of human know-how into a

knowledge-base which is used to reason through a problem, using the knowledge that

is appropriate. A different problem, within the domain of the knowledge-base, can be

solved using the same program without reprogramming. The ability of these systems

to explain the reasoning process through back-traces and to handle levels ofconfidence and uncertainty provides an additional feature that conventional

programming does not handle.

Most expert systems are developed via specialized software tools called shells.

These shells come equipped with an inference mechanism (backward chaining,

forward chaining, or both), and require knowledge to be entered according to a

specified format (all of which might lead some to categorize OPS5 as a shell). They

typically come with a number of other features, such as tools for writing hypertext,

for constructing friendly user interfaces, for manipulating lists, strings, and objects,

and for interfacing with external programs and databases. These shells qualify as

languages, although certainly with a narrower range of application than most

programming languages. For more detailed information on expert system shells, see

the "Expert System Shells at Work" series by Schmuller PC AI, (1991, 1992).

2.2 ExSys Corvid

EXSYS Inc., founded in 1983, for the first time brought an interactive advisory

system to the Web in 1996. Then EXSYS continue developing breakthrough

technology with their new Corvid Product Line. Instead of just providing data, Exsys

2 (Essential English Dictionary, Collins, London, 1990).


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CORVID brings benefits to the Web sites and stand-alone PCs by providing logical

Answers that apply specifically to each visitor.

Exsys CORVID is software the represents a proven knowledge automation expert

system paradigm, resulting from a close examination of what is needed to build and

implement decision-making systems in todays Internet-oriented world. Corvid is

designed to allow system developers to easily capture knowledge, build powerful

interactive advisory applications and deliver them online (Internet, Intranet, wireless)

quickly and effectively producing significant return on investment.

3 Basic Theory

Today, UKM has been one of university in Malaysia that accepted so many graduate

students for doing their study, and FTSM has become one of faculty in UKM that has

so many graduate students, local students and international students. Every

departments now in FTSM, has big job to do in each beginning of a new semester,

especially for handling the registration. Students are always faced by very basic

problem, which is to determine which class they have to take for current semester and

what for the next semester. Graduate Student Center Department is the department

that always busy because of this. Some students need guidance from the head of

Graduate Student Center Department for deciding what suitable class to be taken. Not

only Graduate Student Center Department, but also the lecturers or Head of each

department is being busy for giving advice to students.

3.1 FTSMs Department is Suitable Using Intelligent System

Graduate Student Center Department is a place of administration of graduate students,

and registration thing is being held in this department. Problems like has been stated

above is a major problem occurred in this department, and I thing it is the time for

FTSM UKM, especially for Graduate Students Center to implement Intelligent

System that can provide solution. At least to advice students and provide guidance for

students as well as the expert, lecturers or Head of each department, can do.

The basic idea is, for the future this system can be replaced expert for giving

advice and guidance for students especially in the beginning of each semester.

Hopefully it can help students without having difficulty to make appointment like

they have to with lecturers, and it can be more effective for lecturers in time, so that

they can spare their time for another things.

3.2 Proposed Systems: ExSys CORVID

ExSys Corvid is a Java based expert system knowledge automation. It allows the

logic rules and procedural step by steps that usually used by experts, domain

knowledge, or business operations to be efficiently simulated/emulated in a system.


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Why ExSys Corvid is appropriate or matches for solving problem in FTSM-UKM

like mentioned above? It is because ExSys Corvid using Knowledge Automation

technique.

When system is developed, the decision-making knowledge of human experts will

be converted to rules, a form or logical representation that the computer understand.

Then the rules are analyzed and processed by the engine or expert system to produce

data. Then the data is used to take action for reach the specific goal or end point.

System will asked users bunch of questions and use their input to determine which

rules are true so that system can provide advice.

Other than that, Exsys Corvid is suitable for solving FTSM-UKMs problem

because these below feature it has.

- Easy to learn Developer Interface

- Powerful Inference Engine- Web-Enabled Runtime

- Flexible System User Interface

- Can be integrated with Database and CRM

On the product datasheet also sated that Exsys Corvid are best to use for

Automates Routine Task. It is very suitable for FTSM-UKM to handle routine task in

registering Graduate students class.

For writing this paper and propose this system, authors has been tried the 30-days

trial version of Exsys Corvid System.

4 Implementation Planning of ExSys CORVID in FTSM-UKM

Hardware. Exsys Corvid can be used as stand alone system and also can be used as a

client-server system. Exsys Corvid can be accessed to the server on a web page via

serlet runtime. Minimum configuration that is needed is a computer with Pentium 4

above, 258Mb of RAM, Harddisk spcace, Mouse, and 1024x768resolution of monitor

or better.

Applet Runtime (for browser). Browser supporting Java Applets (requires only

Java 1.1 or above).

(Optional) Servlet Runtime (if the system located in server and accessed by

client). Servlet with Apache Tomcat and Java Runtime 1.3 or higher.

4.1 Developing System

1. Analysis and Design

In this phase, communication between user and human expert will be done to

discuss the problem is face. In this case, Graduate students and Lecturer as the

expert will be asked for the issues.

2. Requirement Analysis

In this phase, identifying requirements will be done. To figure out where this

system should be placed, the number of workstation will be needed, the number


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of license should be paid for the Exsys system, the lecturer should be interviewed

as the human expert, etc.

3. Gathering information from expert and user.

This phase is the most important for this case. Users, in this case students, and

the experts, in this case lecturer, will be questioned and interviewed to get

information about the logic as the knowledge representation. Their information

later will be provided for the system as rules.

4. Determine an Architecture for the Sytem

There are many ways to build system in Corvid. It requires an approach to the

problem and an architecture that will produce correct result, make sense to

developer and will be easy for others to understand and maintain.

5. Use Corvid to Represent the System Logic

Information from the users and experts, as well known as rules, will be processed

by the system. Then the output will become the system logics.

6. Design the End of User Interface

This phase is not taking much time, because this system only needs simple user

interface. The main thing is, the user interface should be easy to understand and

not becoming a new problem to be used.

7. Test the System

A Corvid system should be treated like other software development projects

thoroughly beta tested and validated the data by the experts to make sure it

provides the correct results. This result should be printed out and reviewed by the

experts to make sure they are individually correct.

5 Conclusion and Suggestion

This paper provides proposal to FTSM-UKM to use expert system for helping

students make decision making and helping lecturers assist their students. At first,

authors do examination and observation based on personal experiences in FTSM-

UKM, that author feel it is very hard to determine which class to attend for current

semester and for next following semester. It is also very hard to find an appropriate

time to consult with the lecturers as the experts.

As the problem mentioned, authors think that it is the time for FTSM-UKM to

implement expert system. Exsys Corvid is one of expert systems in the market

(commercially) which is using knowledge automation as its core technique for

problem solving. Besides that, Exsys Corvid provides other features and based on

authors reading, it is very suitable to be implemented in FTSM-UKM.

Authors suggest FTSM-UKM implement expert system in FTSM-UKM as soon as

possible, it can be using this Exsys Corvid like authors suggest or it can be using

another expert system or even develop FTSM-UKMs expert system itself.


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Appendix: Screenshot of ExSys CORVID in Various

Institutions/Organizations and Online Demos

1. United States Department Of Labor, OSHA Fire Safety Advisor


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2. Online Demos, Camcoder Selection Advisor

Documents

AI Paper - Class Selection Advisor for Graduate Student