Franchise Experts

When expert systems as a field or paradigm was morphing into intelligent systems, it was recognized that cognitive task analysis was critical in the design of new technologies. Furthermore, as a part of cognitive task analysis, it is crucial to conduct some form of proficiency scale to identify the experts whose knowledge and skill might be revealed and specified in the creation of reasoning and knowledge-based systems. This article advances the claim that identifying and studying franchise experts—individuals whose performance surpasses that of their best teammates and whose presence and contributions are identified with the spirit of the organization—can contribute to the design of intelligent systems. Of further interest is the possibility that the knowledge elicited from such experts might be invaluable for attempts at accelerated learning.