ABSTRACT
As we have seen in the previous chapters, expert systems have been successfully applied to a wide variety of problems in research and industrial chemistry areas. Since many of these systems are applied in a laboratory environment, they have to coexist with a series of other software types in the laboratory. Several issues should be addressed:
Several requirements and technical considerations have to be taken into account if expert systems are implemented into an existing laboratory software environment. The requirements depend on the application area as well as on applicable regulations for data management. Laboratories underlie certain regulations that ensure the results produced by a laboratory — and nally, the products delivered to a customer — conform to generally accepted standards. This also affects the development process for software operating in those regulated environments. Laboratories generate a vast amount of data and information that has to be organized, managed, and distributed by data management systems. Data management systems provide the basis for decisions; they have to be interfaced with existing expert systems. Documentation is a signicant piece of the decision process. In almost any case of a decision made by a team, a document is required that comprises the consolidated information relevant to the decision subject.
