User Interface Design of an Integrated Decision Support System for Helicopters Mid-Life Upgrade

The mission systems on-board a military aircraft undergoes technological advancements, at a rate that outpaces the service life of the aircraft. Enhancement of mission capabilities by upgrade of mission systems with state-of-the-art technology, is more cost-effective. For holistic analysis of the decision governing factors in a mid-life upgrade process, an automated “Decision Support System” is required to simulate the design process. In this paper, an overview of an “Integrated Decision Support System” (IDSS) that provides an automated analysis of mid-life upgrade process is presented, followed by a detailed discussion of the sub-model - “Man-Machine Interface” (MMI). The MMI sub-model is the forefront of the IDSS, which facilitate inputs acquisitions and provide feedback to the user for appropriate decision. In addition, the MMI sub-model provides a security system to safe guard against unauthorised user. The design of MMI sub-model governs the user-friendliness of IDSS to manage the analytical information in timely manner.