🚀 go-pugleaf

Can someone please help me on expert system
I am doing my theses about, building an expert system, using Visual Basic.
The problem is I am not a computer science student, I am an Industrial
engineer student.
I  have no background in programming although have been catching up with
both VB and Expert system.

My question is:

1. In building expert system (ES), I have found 2 books that actually
explains how to build it using basic (not VB). Problem is both are different
in method.
The other books dont seem to be clear enough on how to actually program the
ES.

-- one method is to create a matrix/table to assign values (of 1 or 0)to the
solution.
with solution being the coloumns and problems being the rows.
I created an excel spreadsheet for the rule, and get the user input values
for each parameters (row).
then ASSUMES that this is solution (coloumn) x.

Then another table will calculate using a formula D=D+R*V........(is this
familiar/correct formula to be used?)

when the result is + then the ASSUMPTION is correct and that particular
coloumn is the answer, if  -ve then ASSUME another coloumn (do-loop)
Problem is,  this method doesn't work, I kept getting the wrong answer.

2.  the other book creates somekind of database and compares the input to
database. Which is to me somewhat similiar to search method. (if x = x then
ok)
Although this method seems OK but then the system is merely comparing and
hence not quite an ES?
(the title of the book is something to do with ES though)

I am sorry for such long question,
any help will be greatly appreciated (GREATLY appreciated)
thank you in advance, at least for reading the whole question.