User interface issues in a high level test synthesis environment

Research in high level test synthesis has made great progress in recent years, however many of the advances have not successfully been transitioned into industrial application. In order to ease the acceptance of a CAD tool based on a new synthesis paradigm, it is imperative that the tool supports the learning process of the designer. The user interface must enable the gradual integration of a new approach into the design process, allowing the designer to become comfortable with the new process. In this paper we present the user interface design for a test synthesis system which allows the designer to control the integration of new test techniques. We discuss the trade-off between manual and automatic synthesis in terms of the usability of the tool, and its potential for rapid design space exploration.