Knowledge‐based systems tools are increasingly available on microcomputer systems. The range and characteristics of some of these tools are briefly reviewed including PROLOG and LISP systems and Expert System Shells for both text‐and rule‐based approaches. While the tools available up to about 1984 were reasonably adequate for self and academic teaching purposes and for prototyping systems, production quality and capability tools have subsequently become widely available. Different paradigms for problem reduction and analysis are covered, followed by the matching of problem type, approach, and tool to both the learning phase and the production process. There is a bias towards the construction, design, and transport engineering areas of civil engine