专家系统旨在模拟专家就特定专业领域提供的建议和知识。在水行业，专家系统的接受取决于用户友好性。本文描述的用于帮助水处理厂操作员的专家系统的结构是用户友好的。介绍了专家系统的目标、开发专家系统的替代方案，并对一个专家系统进行了详细讨论。 图中提供了程序组件的示意图、它们之间的交互示意图、可用单元操作的菜单、专家系统组件的流程图和示例屏幕。

Expert systems are designed to emulate the advice and knowledge that an expert provides regarding a particular area of expertise. In the water industry, acceptance of expert systems hinges on user- friendliness. The structure of the expert system to aid water treatment plant operators described in this paper was formulated to be user- friendly. The goals of expert systems, alternatives for development of expert systems, and a detailed discussion of one expert system are offered. Figures offer a schematic of program components, a schematic of their interaction, a menu of available unit operations, a flowchart for the expert system component, and sample screens.