<s>
The	O
R1	B-Application
(	O
internally	O
called	O
XCON	B-Application
,	O
for	O
eXpert	O
CONfigurer	O
)	O
program	O
was	O
a	O
production-rule-based	O
system	O
written	O
in	O
OPS5	B-Language
by	O
John	O
P	O
.	O
McDermott	O
of	O
CMU	O
in	O
1978	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
the	O
ordering	O
of	O
DEC	O
's	O
VAX	B-Device
computer	O
systems	O
by	O
automatically	O
selecting	O
the	O
computer	O
system	O
components	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
customer	O
's	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
developing	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
McDermott	O
made	O
use	O
of	O
experts	O
from	O
both	O
DEC	O
's	O
PDP/11	O
and	O
VAX	B-Device
computer	O
systems	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
resultant	O
"	O
sorting	O
it	O
out	O
"	O
had	O
an	O
additional	O
benefit	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
VAX	B-Device
systems	O
delivered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XCON	B-Application
first	O
went	O
into	O
use	O
in	O
1980	O
in	O
DEC	O
's	O
plant	O
in	O
Salem	O
,	O
New	O
Hampshire	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
XCON	B-Application
,	O
when	O
ordering	O
a	O
VAX	B-Device
from	O
DEC	O
,	O
every	O
cable	O
,	O
connection	O
,	O
and	O
bit	O
of	O
software	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
ordered	O
separately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Computers	O
and	O
peripherals	B-Device
were	O
not	O
sold	O
complete	O
in	O
boxes	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
today	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
XCON	B-Application
interacted	O
with	O
the	O
sales	O
person	O
,	O
asking	O
critical	O
questions	O
before	O
printing	O
out	O
a	O
coherent	O
and	O
workable	O
system	O
specification/order	O
slip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XCON	B-Application
's	O
success	O
led	O
DEC	O
to	O
rewrite	O
XCON	B-Application
as	O
XSEL	O
—	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
XCON	B-Application
intended	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
DEC	O
's	O
salesforce	O
to	O
aid	O
a	O
customer	O
in	O
properly	O
configuring	O
their	O
VAX	B-Device
(	O
so	O
they	O
would	O
not	O
,	O
say	O
,	O
choose	O
a	O
computer	O
too	O
large	O
to	O
fit	O
through	O
their	O
doorway	O
or	O
choose	O
too	O
few	O
cabinets	O
for	O
the	O
components	O
to	O
fit	O
in	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
McDermott	O
's	O
1980	O
paper	O
on	O
R1	B-Application
won	O
the	O
AAAI	O
Classic	O
Paper	O
Award	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legendarily	O
,	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
R1	B-Application
comes	O
from	O
McDermott	O
,	O
who	O
supposedly	O
said	O
as	O
he	O
was	O
writing	O
it	O
,	O
"	O
Three	O
years	O
ago	O
I	O
could	O
n't	O
spell	O
knowledge	O
engineer	O
,	O
now	O
I	O
are	O
one.	O
"	O
</s>
