Expert System usage in Personal Development

1. Expert System usage in Personal Development Dr David Biggs Natural and Social Sciences Expert Systems are used for personal developmentin a variety of ways from psychometric profile reports through to personalised fitness instruction. This Case Study was developed for students to grasp the fundamental principles of using expert systems in personal development as part of the Postgraduate courses in Business and Occupational Psychology. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ‘Realising Potential’ Programme aims to develop employees in specific racial groups who are under-represented in particular kinds and levels of work. It operates under the provision of the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Race Relations Amendment Act 2002 and allows special access to training and development, which will encourage individuals from an ethnic minority to develop and attain promotion within the Department. Funds were limited for training so the selection of individuals was made initially on a competency based application. As part of this process, it was important that unsuccessful applicants knew precisely why they had not been successful and how they could develop in the future. An expert system (FRED - Feedback Report Evaluating Development) was favoured over traditional feedback methods on the basis of sensitivity, wording, time and cost. FRED provided unsuccessful applicants with important feedback that directly related to their application and suggested appropriate development opportunities for the future. Applying FRED in the Classroom To demonstrate the effectiveness of expert systems in providing developmental feedback. FRED was used as a case study. In pairs, students completed one question of the application form. These were then entered into FRED which generated personalised feedback reports. Students then compared their feedback reports to their original answers, which were discussed as a group. To supplement this, a feedback report by a ‘real’ applicant was also demonstrated to show how FRED would pick up on frequently occurring themes such as ‘not asking for feedback’. Students appreciated this demonstration and stated that they could clearly see how expert systems could be used in personal development. The DWP is one of the largest Government departments employing over 130,000 people responsible for delivering support and advice to individuals on benefits, pensioners, employers, families, children and disabled people. For further details please contact David Biggs at dbiggs@glos.ac.uk