A method for improving the induction of computer programs from human problem solving protocols begins with four steps. The first step requires dividing the protocol into phrases that represent the performer's single assertions about the task or a single act of task oriented behavior. Second, the operators and information constituting single states of knowledge are set down in the construction of problem spaces. Next, a Problem Behavior Graph (PBG) is plotted by proceeding through the phrases of the protocol. Finally, a production system, which captures the regularities in the subject's search behavior, is created in several stages: (1) conjecturing individual productions at each node of the PBG; (2) consolidating the production system, a process analogous to the subroutinization of a large program; (3) plotting the production system against the PBG; and (4) determining a conflict resolution rule. A 33-reference bibliography is appended. (KB)