Distributed expert problem treatment as a model for information system analysis and design

We discuss the functional analysis and design of a general information provision mechanism. Our basic assumptions are that information provision mechanisms are best considered as a part of a problem management system which includes user, mechanism and knowledge resource, that such mechanisms must necessarily be multi-functional, and that they will include both human and machine components. By analyzing how such a mechanism must operate in order to help the user to treat her/his problem, we identify a number of discrete functions which interact in complex ways. This leads us to discuss a particular approach to the modelling and design of problem treatment situations, distributed problem treatment. This ap proach assumes that problem treatment can be broken down into a number of separate entitites, each of which makes hypotheses about its particular area of responsibility, and com municates these results to the other entities of the mechanism. We demonstrate, by partial example, that the information provision mechanism fulfills the requirements of this approach, and that this approach appears able to provide a means for analysis and design of information provision mechanisms which retains the level of complexity necessary for the sorts of mecha nisms our assumptions imply. We suggest a possible architec ture for the information mechanism based on this approach.