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Besides the coverage of the levels of the methodological pyramid, the scope of the methodology is another important aspect to consider. With scope is meant the range of activities included in a methodology. Building a KBS is not a one-dimensional affair; it encompasses a wide range of problems and tasks running from organizational factors to low-level coding in a programming/development language. Based on the methodological pyramid and the scope, the approaches appearing in the literature can be placed into three general classes:
Before starting the survey of these classes of approaches, it must be emphasized that the methodological pyramid and the derived classification do not imply a value judgment. Though it may seem that "more is better," this cannot be proven to be true in general. From experience with methodologies for the development of conventional systems, we know that a "bad" methodology in the hands of an experienced person may turn into a "good" one, while a "good" methodology may be spoiled by the incompetence of a user. Just as shouting "faster" may sometimes help the runner, boxes-and-arrows may sometimes help the developer. In more general terms, it is extremely difficult to judge the value of a methodology in an objective way. Experimentation is of course the proper way to do it, but is hardly feasible because there are too many conditions that cannot be controlled. Moreover, nobody will in practice pay for building the same KBS twice with different approaches. Introducing an experimental toy problem will violate the basic assumption behind the need for a methodology: a complex development process. So, of necessity, the notion of "achievement" will be limited mainly to reported use in practice. Though it could be an interesting research project, investigating the relation between use of a methodology and "success" of a KBS is outside the scope of this chapter.
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