Contract type selector (CTS): a KBS for training young engineers

This paper describes the main features of a prototype of a knowledge-based system (KBS) which is under development at the University of Birmingham. The overall aim of the research is to investigate the possibility of developing a KBS to help in the choice of an appropriate contract strategy for a specific project. This could be an aid both to practitioners and to trainers of students and young engineers. The main focus is currently on the process of choosing an appropriate contract type from the available options in the new engineering contract. Fuzzy sets have been used for knowledge representation and manipulation and dBASE has been used to manage the data base.