Design support using distributed Web-based AI tools

Currently designers are faced with searching through a 'sea' of on-line knowledge to support their decision making activities. This paper describs WebCADET, which is a reimplementation of the stand-alone CADET - a Knowledge-Based System (KBS) for product design evaluation. WebCADET aims to provide effective and efficient support for designers during their searches for design knowledge. WebCADET uses the 'AI as text' approach, where KBSs can be seen as a medium to facilitate the communication of design knowledge between designers. The development of WebCADET to include practical support via World Wide Web-based functionality, which illustrates the potential of the 'AI as text' approach, is described in the paper.