An `AI in Design' View of Design
Methodology

Explanation Facilities

Are there any explanation facilities provided for the decisions taken by the system?

Discussion. Evaluating the reasoning of a design system implies analyzing not only the results of the design process, but also the steps taken by the system to generate the results. These steps can be provided in an explanation. Explanation can serve several purposes. It can help check the validity of the system by making the reasoning process visible to the user. Explanation can also facilitate learning (human or system), as the sequences of decisions can be generalized for reuse. In multi-agent systems, explanation can serve argumentation and negotiation purposes for conflict resolution.

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