DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM UTILIZING A BAYESIAN NETWORK MODEL HAVING LINK WEIGHTS UPDATED EXPERIMENTALLY

Diagnostic systems utilizing a bayesian network model having link weights updated experientially include an algorithm for easily quantifying the strength of links in a Bayesian network, a method for reducing the amount of data needed to automatically update the probability matrices of the network on the basis of experiential knowledge, and methods and algorithms for automatically collecting knowledge from experience and automatically updating the Bayesian network with the collected knowledge. A practical exemplary embodiment provides a trouble ticket fault management system for a communications network. The exemplary embodiment is particularly appropriate for utilizing the automatic learning capabilities of the invention. In the exemplary embodiment, a communications network is represented as a Bayesian network where devices and communication links are represented as nodes in the Bayesian network. Faults in the communications network are identified and recorded in the form of a trouble ticket and one or more probable causes of the fault are given based on the Bayesian network calculations. When a fault is corrected, the trouble ticket is updated with the knowledge learned from correcting the fault. The updated trouble ticket information is used to automatically update the appropriate probability matrices in the Bayesian network.