Meta-cases: Explaining case-based reasoning

Abstract

AI research on case-based reasoning has led to the development of many laboratory case-based systems. As we move towards introducing these systems into work environments, explaining the processes of case-based reasoning is becoming an increasingly important issue. In this paper we describe the notion of a meta-case for illustrating, explaining and justifying case-based reasoning. A meta-case contains a trace of the processing in a problem-solving episode, and provides an explanation of the problem-solving decisions and a (partial) justification for the solution. The language for representing the problem-solving trace depends on the model of problem solving. We describe a task-method-knowledge (TMK) model of problem-solving and describe the representation of meta-cases in the TMK language. We illustrate this explanatory scheme with examples from INTERACTIVE KRITIK, a computer-based design and learning environment presently under development.