Collaborative System Experiency in a Critical Activity Context: Air Traffic Control

Collaborative systems are used in several application areas. But, in the context of critical activities, where human life may be involved, the acceptation of such a system substituting human-human coordination is more difficult. The user must delegate a part of his responsibilities to the system and must have a high level of trust in its. Moreover it is difficult to promote changes in an implanted system leading to an evolution of working methods. This article tackles an experience of a collaborative system development in the context of the French air traffic control. We observe that the main artifact of coordination (the paper strip) between air traffic controllers turned an obstacle to the modernization of the system and to a wider collaboration. We searched an alternative to substitute the strip paper and a process to gain the trust of the user in the new system. The article relates the project experience and highlight recommendation for the development of these systems in critical activity contexts.