To evaluate the usability of Knowledge Based System shells, the collaboration between the user and the systems have be analysed. Since the collaboration depends heavily on systems’ interfaces, these are in focus during the investigation. Since, different end users have individual needs, the systems should support various users through effective representation techniques or forms. This study involves investigation of some already implemented representation forms to indicate if any of the representation forms seem to suit a majority of the users. Furthermore, the properties of the users’ selected representation form may explain the form's preference over the others.
The investigation compares two similar Knowledge Based System shells, Wisdom and KANAL-system. These shells are based on different paradigms and are using different representations techniques. The Wisdom paradigm uses several forms, decision-tables, frames and hierarchical tree structures and KANAL-system paradigm uses a menu/dialogue-driven feature. These two paradigms are investigated by using computer skilled subjects and the preferences are measured by checking the usability of the systems.