A practical methodology for automation application development has been developed that introduces a variable level of complexity as required by the processes to be automated and the organisation in which it is developed. This paper gives a description of the application of the AMAAD methodology to the first four life-cycle phases of a Knowledge-Based System (KBS). The case study involves the design, development and test of automated system for wire harness routing through complex structures. The first four phases are Problem Identification, Feasibility Analysis, Knowledge Acquisition (KA) and Knowledge Modelling (KM)