Abstract :
There are strong cost, performance and safety pressures taking us towards intelligent support systems; these will change the role of the user and his information needs. The information exchange at the user interface will be at a different level (e.g. talking about goals and intentions), requiring the presentation and processing of new qualities. An important innovation will be the making of decisions at the interface, involving the need to ask `why´ questions during design. The paper defines the aspects that will need quality assurance and standardization, with the aim of encouraging research and a forum for the exchange of design experience