A structural model which represents the causal relationships of problems using a directed graph is one of the effective techniques for problem analysis in business information systems planning. However, it is very difficult for novice system planners to make a structural model of reasonable quality, since advanced skills, such as acquiring and selecting nodes in a structural model, relating the nodes and so forth, are needed for structural modeling. In this paper, we propose a support method of structural modeling by providing useful information from case-base for a user. The case-base is con structed from cases of structural models by using a technique in which nodes of structural models are divided into four parts. From the case-base, effective information for creating appropriate nodes is retrieved and provided for a user. We have developed a support system for structural modeling based on the proposed method, named SMAP. As a result of evaluation, the effectiveness of SMAP for structural modeling could be recognized.
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