An
effective interaction with the user is a key aspect for the success
of technological tools applied to both everyday and highly specialized
tasks. This paper shows features of MEXAR, an intelligent system
that solves a mission planning problem related to the MARS EXPRESS
program of the European Space Agency. The paper describes the
MEXAR interaction module developed to support human mission planners
in a specific daily task, which consists in generating commands
for downloading the on-board memory of the spacecraft. The interactive
environment of MEXAR helps a user to analyze the current problem
and takes planning decisions as a result of an interactive process
enhanced by various elaborate facilities. Different interactive
techniques have been integrated to address two different aspects:
(a) developing trust on behalf of the user in the automated algorithms;
(b) promoting a deep participation of the user during problem
solving. An integral part of the tool development process has
been a usability study on MEXAR'S Interaction Module, aimed at
discovering possible problems in user-system interaction. This
paper discusses how the enhancement of both transparency and usability
of automated decision making tools is fundamental for users' acceptance
of artificial support systems and their profitable deployment
in real world applications.
