Our goal is to provide problem-solving tools that combine the power of sophisticated modeling with the ease-of-use and accessibility of a spreadsheet. We think knowledge workers on the front line, including sales people and engineers, need access to more powerful and flexible tools than they have today. To be 'powerful' enough, an Apprentice needs to be able to automate any configuration problem that has well-defined decision rules. 'Flexible' requires the ability to enter and update rules without writing a line of computer code. To meet our objective of 'accessibility', our products need to be affordable and efficient enough to run on most computers.

An ideal Apprentice application is one where the same problem is being solved repeatedly, throughout an organization, with considerable effort and questionable consistency. We capture the rules the workers are using to make these decisions, and we embed them in software that automates the process for everyone involved. We enjoy situations where there are multiple points-of-view for how a problem should be solved, because that is what often happens in real life. No need to decide upfront who is right, no need to dictate one solution path - an Apprentice solution can incorporate conflicting rules and let users and experience decide which approach is better. Or pick one set of rules that everyone abides by; it's your choice.

We call ourselves 'Apprentice Systems' (as opposed to a more traditional descriptor 'expert systems') because the computer is never the expert, you are. The best a piece of software can do is to learn from you and copy your actions faithfully. That is what an Apprentice does. Our applications can be designed to actively learn, inferring rules from past and future designs and applying those new rules when appropriate. No need to wait for perfect knowledge to design an Apprentice. Start with what you know now, and the Apprentice gets smarter with use.