Diagnostic tasks involve identifying faulty components from observations of symptomatic device behavior. This paper presents a general diagnostic theory that uses the perspective of diagnosis as ideniifying consisieni modes of behavior, correct or faulty. Our theory draws on the intuitions behind recent diagnostic theories to identify faulty components without necessarily knowing how they fail. To derive additional diagnostic discrimination we use the models for behavioral modes together with probabilistic information about the likelihood of each mode of behavior.
Johan de Kleer, Brian C. Williams