Explainable Artificial Intelligence: A Practical Framework for Interpreting and Trusting Machine Learning Models
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is becoming essential for organizations that rely on machine learning for critical decision-making. This research presents a practical framework for interpreting and trusting machine learning models using complementary explainability techniques, including SHAP, LIME, ELI5, DALEX, Partial Dependence Plots, and Individual Conditional Expectation analysis. Through a decision-tree income-classification case study, the research demonstrates how global and local explanations can reveal model behavior, feature importance, decision pathways, and prediction logic. The findings show that no single explainability method is sufficient on its own; instead, trustworthy AI requires a combination of interpretability techniques, governance practices, continuous validation, and stakeholder-focused communication. The proposed framework provides a practical roadmap for implementing transparent, accountable, and reliable machine learning systems in real-world environments.
