Which of the following best describes an Expert System?

• A. Management Information System
• B. Decision Support System
• C. Executive Information System
• D. Expert System

Answer: (D)

An Expert System is a computer program that imitates a human expert’s problem-solving ability in a specific domain by using a knowledge base of rules, facts, and heuristics, and an inference engine that applies those rules to the user’s problem to produce advice or a solution. It often explains its reasoning and can handle cases where expert knowledge is scarce, making it useful for diagnosing issues or guiding complex decisions in a focused area, such as medical diagnosis or fault finding in engineering.

This is different from a Management Information System, which mainly collects and reports routine data to support day-to-day management; a Decision Support System, which helps users analyze data and make decisions using models and interactive tools; and an Executive Information System, which provides high-level, strategic summaries for executives. An Expert System’s goal is to replicate expert reasoning in a narrow field, not just process data or present broad summaries.