Problem Solving Methods: Past, Present, and Future

The special issue of Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing (AI EDAM) has published invited papers that deal with problem solving methods (PSM). The objective of the issue is to examine the potential of PSMs, determine the existence of difficulties, and to make predictions about their use in the future development of knowledge-based systems, including those built and delivered over the Web. Another goal of research in PSMs is to be able to help in the building of a knowledge-based system for a selected task by configuring a set of PSMs selected from a library and linking that with the appropriate knowledge. The invited contributors are from B. Chandrasekaran, Bill Clancey, Deiter Fensel, and MarkMusen, along with their coauthors. They jointly represent some of the major players in the development of PSMs during the period from 1984 to continuing research in the field.