RES, AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR THE SET-UP AND INTERPRETATION OF A RUGGEDNESS TEST IN HPLC METHOD VALIDATION .3. THE EVALUATION

In order to establish the confidence of target users in an expert system, it is important that it has been submitted to a thorough testing procedure. In the case of RES, an expert system on ruggedness testing in HPLC, the testing procedure is divided into two parts: a validation and an evaluation part. In the validation part, the performance of the expert system is measured against the expert's performance using simulated test cases. In the evaluation part, the suitability of RES is assessed by evaluators in a real laboratory environment. RES has been evaluated in two laboratories. In one laboratory the emphasis of the evaluation was on the knowledge in RES. In the second evaluation the usability of RES with respect to users who were inexperienced in formalized testing was emphasized. The results and comments of the evaluators are discussed. RES has been found to be useful in practice.