A refinement framework to support validation and maintenance of knowledge-based systems

In this paper, we show that refinement tasks involved in Knowledge-Based Systems (KBSs) maintenance are similar to those taking place at the development stage, and thus a uniform refinement framework can be designed to support knowledge base validation and maintenance. After defining refinement tasks required at different stages of KBS life cycle, we outline a refinement framework capable of supporting them. An extended example is given to illustrate different aspects of the proposed refinement framework.