Lending Analysis Support System (LASS): An Application of a Knowledge-Based System to Support Commercial Loan Analysis

Knowledge-based systems represent one of the most important and fastest growing research topics in the field of information and decision sciences. They promise to have an appreciable impact on decisionmaking in ill-structured decision settings where managers often employ semilogical procedures and tacit knowledge. The incorporation of knowledge engineering concepts with decision-support systems is discussed. A knowledge-based system supports the selection of appropriate models and data which are features contained in a conventional decisionsupport system. A knowledge-based prototype designed for the difficult problems encountered by commercial loan officers is also described, as are the elicitation and representation techniques employed in developing the prototype.