A Proposal for Modelling Usability in a Holistic MDD Method

Holistic methods for Model-Driven Development (MDD) aim to model all the system features in a conceptual model. This conceptual model is the input for a model compiler that can generate software systems by means of automatic transformations. However, in general, MDD methods focus on modelling the structure and functionality of systems, relegating the interaction and usability features to manual implementations at the last steps of the software development process. Some usability features are strongly related to the functionality of the system and their inclusion is not so easy. In order to facilitate the inclusion of functional usability features from the first steps of the development process and bring closer MDD methods to the holistic perspective, we propose a Usability Model. The Usability Model gathers conceptual primitives that represent functional usability features in a sufficiently abstract way so that the model can be used with different holistic MDD methods. This paper defines all the primitives that can be used to represent functional usability features. Moreover, we have defined a process to include the Usability Model in any MDD method without affecting its existing conceptual model. The proposal is based on model-to-model and model-to-code transformations. As proof of concept, we have applied our proposal to an existing MDD method called the OO-method and we have measured its efficiency. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work has been developed with the support of MICINN (PROS-Req TIN2010-19130-C02-02), UV (UV-INV-PRECOMP13-115032), GVA (ORCA PROMETEO/2009/015), and co-financed with ERDF. We acknowledge the support of the ITEA2 Call 3 UsiXML (20080026) and funding by the MITYC (TSI-020400-2011-20).Panach Navarrete, JI.; Aquino Salvioni, N.; Pastor López, O. (2014). A Proposal for Modelling Usability in a Holistic MDD Method. Science of Computer Programming. 86:74-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scico.2013.06.008S74888

Including Functional Usability Features in a Model-Driven Development Method

The Software Engineering (SE) community has historically focused on working with models to represent functionality and persistence, pushing interaction modelling into the background, which has been covered by the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) community. Recently, adequately modelling interaction, and specifically usability, is being considered as a key factor for success in user acceptance, making the integration of the SE and HCI communities more necessary. If we focus on the Model-Driven Development (MDD) paradigm, we notice that there is a lack of proposals to deal with usability features from the very first steps of software development process. In general, usability features are manually implemented once the code has been generated from models. This contradicts the MDD paradigm, which claims that all the analysts effort must be focused on building models, and the code generation is relegated to model to code transformations. Moreover, usability features related to functionality may involve important changes in the system architecture if they are not considered from the early steps. We state that these usability features related to functionality can be represented abstractly in a conceptual model, and their implementation can be carried out automatically.This work has been developed with the support of MICINN (PROS-Req TIN2010-19130-C02-02, TIN2011-23216), UV (UV-INV-PRECOMP12-80627), GVA (ORCA PROMETEO /2009 /015), and co-financed with ERDF. We also acknowledge the support of the ITEA2 Call 3 UsiXML (20080026) and funding by the MITYC under the project TSI-020400-2011-20.Panach Navarrete, JI.; Juristo Juzgado, N.; Pastor López, O. (2013). Including Functional Usability Features in a Model-Driven Development Method. Computer Science and Information Systems. 10(3):999-1024. https://doi.org/10.2298/CSIS120213016PS999102410

A Navigational Role-Centric Model Oriented Web Approach MoWebA

[ES] Entre los grandes desafíos actuales de las aplicaciones Web podemos citar la portabilidad, adaptabilidad y evolución. Estos desafíos se dan tanto en el ambiente en que operan así como en su desarrollo, ya que a menudo requieren de diferentes lenguajes, frameworks, herramientas, entornos, plataformas, etc. El Desarrollo Dirigido por Modelos (MDD) y en particular, la Arquitectura Dirigida por Modelos (MDA) contemplan estos desafíos proponiendo distintos niveles de abstracción para las diferentes fases de modelado, partiendo de modelos más orientados al problema, que no deberían contemplar aspectos de implementación (CIM, PIM), hasta llegar a los modelos más orientados a la solución planteada (PSM, ISM). Sin embargo, encarar adecuadamente este tema puede depender del grado de independencia que adquieren los modelos. Este trabajo de Tesis presenta un método que considera el problema de la evolución y portabilidad hacia diferentes entornos o arquitecturas en el diseño y desarrollo de aplicaciones Web. La propuesta se denomina MoWebA (del inglés, Model Oriented Web Approach). Durante el desarrollo de la tesis, hemos identificado una serie de aspectos que podrían tener un impacto positivo sobre los problemas de portabilidad y adaptabilidad que son: i) incorporación de un modelo específico de la arquitectura ASM (del inglés, Architecture Specific Model), que permita la portabilidad de los PIMs con respecto a la arquitectura (por ejemplo, RIA, SOA, Mobile); ii) clara separación de la capa de presentación con respecto a las capas navegacionales y de comportamiento; iii) definición de la estructura navegacional de acuerdo a un mecanismo orientado al comportamiento, que prevenga la modificación del diseño navegacional causada por cambios en la implementación; iv) uso de estándares para facilitar la independencia de las herramientas. Se ha llevado a cabo una revisión del estado de la literatura teniendo en cuenta los fundamentos de la Ingeniería Dirigida por Modelos MDE (Model Driven Engineering), las propuestas metodológicas para el desarrollo de Aplicaciones Web, las tendencias actuales, analizando en forma especial de qué manera las propuestas Web las contemplan, y las evidencias empíricas tanto en la academia como en la Industria. Presentamos así la propuesta MoWebA a partir de una serie de consideraciones sobre las aplicaciones Web que han sido identificadas durante el proceso de revisión del estado del arte. Posteriormente, detallamos cada una de las etapas del proceso de modelado, incluyendo los diagramas y notaciones propuestos, sus definiciones a través de sus metamodelos y ejemplos de uso. Seguidamente, presentamos el proceso de transformación adoptado por MoWebA, con los mecanismos de transformación Modelo-A-Modelo y Modelo-A-Código. Hemos dedicado un importante esfuerzo en la validación de la propuesta. Se realizó una primera validación, adoptando los modelos de MoWebA y en algunos casos generando aplicaciones para diferentes dominios. Con estas primeras experiencias de validación hemos podido identificar fortalezas y debilidades de la propuesta PIM de MoWebA, además de determinar en qué grado la misma cubre las necesidades de diferentes dominios. Como segunda experiencia, hemos realizado una validación preliminar con un grupo de estudiantes de último año de la carrera de Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad Católica "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción" (Paraguay), que consistió en la definición de ASM para tres arquitecturas diferentes. Finalmente, como tercera experiencia de validación, hemos llevado a cabo un Caso de Estudio que consistió en la definición de tres extensiones para MoWebA. Dicha validación fue desarrollada como parte de un proyecto de investigación liderado por la Universidad Católica "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción". La experiencia ha permitido analizar el grado de adaptabilidad de MoWebA y automatización en las transformacinoes PIM-ASM, así como el grado de independiencia del PIM.[CA] Entre els grans desafiaments actuals de les aplicacions Web podem citar la portabilitat, adaptabilitat i evolució. El Desenvolupament Dirigit per Models (MDD) contemple aquests desafiaments proposant diferents nivells d'abstracció per a les diferents fases de modelatge. No obstant això, encarar adequadament aquest tema pot dependre del grau d'independència que adquireixen els models. Aquest treball de Tesi presenta un mètode que considera el problema de l'evolució i la portabilitat, en diferents entorns o arquitectures, per al disseny i desenvolupament d'aplicacions Web. La proposta s'anomena MoWebA (Model Oriented Web Approach). Durant el desenvolupament de la tesi hem identificat una sèrie d'aspectes que podrien tenir un impacte positiu sobre els problemes de portabilitat i adaptabilitat. Aquestos són: i) la incorporació d'un model específic d'arquitectura ASM (Architecture Specific Model), que permet la portabilitat dels models PIM respecte a l'arquitectura (per exemple, RIA, SOA, Mobile); ii) la clara separació de la capa de presentació respecte a les capes navegacionals i de comportament; iii) la definició de l'estructura navegacional d'acord amb un mecanisme orientat al comportament, que restringisca la modificació del disseny navegacional causada per canvis en la implementació; i per últim, iv) l'ús d'estàndards per tal de facilitar la independència de les eines. S'ha realitzat una revisió de l'estat de la literatura considerant els fonaments de l'Enginyeria Dirigida per Models MDE (Model Driven Engineering), les propostes metodològiques per al desenvolupament d'Aplicacions Web, les tendències actuals (analitzant de forma especial la manera en que les propostes Web les consideren), i les evidències empíriques tant en l'acadèmia com en la Indústria. Presentem així la proposta MoWebA a partir d'una sèrie de consideracions sobre les aplicacions Web que són identificades durant el procés de revisió de l'estat de l'art. Posteriorment, detallem cadascuna de les etapes del procés de modelatge, incloent els diagrames i les notacions proposades, les seues definicions (a través dels seus metamodels), i alguns exemples d'ús. Seguidament, presentem el procés de transformació adoptat per MoWebA, emprant mecanismes de transformació Model-a-Model i Model-a-Codi. Hem dedicat un esforç considerable en la validació de la proposta. Es realitzà una primera validació adoptant els models de MoWebA, i en alguns casos es generaren aplicacions per a diferents dominis. Aquestes experiències van ser realitzades per modeladors amb poca experiència, així com també per modeladors i desenvolupadors experimentats. Les experiències van ser desenvolupades en ambients tant acadèmics com industrials. Amb aquestes primeres experiències de validació s'identificaren fortaleses i febleses de la proposta PIM de MoWebA. També permeteren determinar fins quin grau la proposta respon a les necessitats dels diferents dominis. Com a segona experiència es realitzà una validació preliminar amb un grup d'estudiants d'últim curs de la carrera d'Enginyeria Informàtica de la Universitat Catòlica "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción" (Paraguai), que va consistir en la definició del model d'arquitectura ASM per a tres arquitectures diferents. Amb aquesta segona experiència de validació s'aconseguí valorar com de factible és d'adaptar la proposta a altres arquitectures. Finalment, com a tercera experiència de validació, es dugué a terme un Cas d'Estudi que va consistir en la definició de tres extensions per a MoWebA. L'experiència permeté analitzar el grau d'adaptabilitat i d'automatització en les transformacions PIM-ASM que s'obté amb MoWebA, així com el grau de independència del PIM amb respecte als altres models. Durant aquesta validació, s'han realitzat a més experiències de satisfacció d'usuaris amb un grup de modeladors i desenvolupadors.[EN] Some of the major challenges facing Web applications today are those of portability, adaptability and evolution, not only in the environment in which they run, but also in the way in which they must be developed, often requiring different languages, frameworks, tools, environments, platforms, etc. MDD and MDA take into account these issues. However, to achieve portability, adaptability and evolution depends to some extent on the degree of independence that the models adopt. This Thesis presents a method that take into account the problem of evolution and portability towards different environments. The approach is called MoWebA (Model Oriented Web Approach). Some key aspects of MoWebA that could have a positive impact in the portability and adaptability are:i) incorporation of an Architecture Specific Model (ASM) as a new modeling layer, in order to keep the portability of the Platform Independent Model (PIM) regarding the different architectures (e.g., RIA, SOA, Mobile); ii) clear separation of the presentation layer with regard to the navigation and behavior layers; iii) definition of the navigational structure according to a function-oriented approach, which prevents the modification of the navigation design caused by implementation changes; iv) and use of standards in order to facilitate the independence from the tools. We justify MoWebA by highlighting a series of concerns for Web applications development. We present an overview of the method including the dimensions and the diagrams that we propose. Subsequently, we present each step in the modeling process, including the diagrams and notation, its definition (metamodels) and examples of use. Afterwards, we present the transformation process adopted by MoWebA, which includes model-to-model and model-to-code transformations. We have devoted special attention to the validation of the approach. As a first validation, MoWebA has been used for modelling and generating different types of applications by both novice and experienced modellers and developers. These experiences were done in academic and industrial contexts. The experiences have allowed to identify strengths and weaknesses of the PIM proposal, and to verify that the proposed notation covers the needs of different domains. Next, we present a preliminary validation of the ASM proposal, considering an experience of different ASM definitions made by a group of computer science students at the Catholic University "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción" (Paraguay). This preliminary validation has allowed us to determine how feasible is to adapt the proposal to other architectures. The analysis of the validation sought to answer the following questions: Can the same PIM model be used for different architectures?; Is it possible to specify clear limits between platform independent models (PIM) and architectural specific models (ASM)?; How does an architectural specific model facilitate the transformation rules definition?. Finally, we present a Case Study to validate the extensions of MoWebA to three different architectures. The experience was structured taking into account the framework of Runeson et al. This experience have allowed to carry out three complete extensions. In such extensions we could analysed the grade of adaptability of MoWebA and of automation PIM-ASM, as well as the grade of independence of the PIM metamodel. We have also conducted some user's satisfaction experiences with modelers and developers.González Toñánez, M. (2022). A Navigational Role-Centric Model Oriented Web Approach MoWebA [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181470TESI

Automatic generation of software interfaces for supporting decisionmaking processes. An application of domain engineering & machine learning

[EN] Data analysis is a key process to foster knowledge generation in particular domains or fields of study. With a strong informative foundation derived from the analysis of collected data, decision-makers can make strategic choices with the aim of obtaining valuable benefits in their specific areas of action. However, given the steady growth of data volumes, data analysis needs to rely on powerful tools to enable knowledge extraction. Information dashboards offer a software solution to analyze large volumes of data visually to identify patterns and relations and make decisions according to the presented information. But decision-makers may have different goals and, consequently, different necessities regarding their dashboards. Moreover, the variety of data sources, structures, and domains can hamper the design and implementation of these tools. This Ph.D. Thesis tackles the challenge of improving the development process of information dashboards and data visualizations while enhancing their quality and features in terms of personalization, usability, and flexibility, among others. Several research activities have been carried out to support this thesis. First, a systematic literature mapping and review was performed to analyze different methodologies and solutions related to the automatic generation of tailored information dashboards. The outcomes of the review led to the selection of a modeldriven approach in combination with the software product line paradigm to deal with the automatic generation of information dashboards. In this context, a meta-model was developed following a domain engineering approach. This meta-model represents the skeleton of information dashboards and data visualizations through the abstraction of their components and features and has been the backbone of the subsequent generative pipeline of these tools. The meta-model and generative pipeline have been tested through their integration in different scenarios, both theoretical and practical. Regarding the theoretical dimension of the research, the meta-model has been successfully integrated with other meta-model to support knowledge generation in learning ecosystems, and as a framework to conceptualize and instantiate information dashboards in different domains. In terms of the practical applications, the focus has been put on how to transform the meta-model into an instance adapted to a specific context, and how to finally transform this later model into code, i.e., the final, functional product. These practical scenarios involved the automatic generation of dashboards in the context of a Ph.D. Programme, the application of Artificial Intelligence algorithms in the process, and the development of a graphical instantiation platform that combines the meta-model and the generative pipeline into a visual generation system. Finally, different case studies have been conducted in the employment and employability, health, and education domains. The number of applications of the meta-model in theoretical and practical dimensions and domains is also a result itself. Every outcome associated to this thesis is driven by the dashboard meta-model, which also proves its versatility and flexibility when it comes to conceptualize, generate, and capture knowledge related to dashboards and data visualizations

Towards a Technological Ecosystem to Provide Information Dashboards as a Service: A Dynamic Proposal for Supplying Dashboards Adapted to Specific Scenarios

[EN]Data are crucial to improve decision-making and obtain greater benefits in any type of activity. However, the large amount of information generated by new technologies has made data analysis and knowledge generation a complex task. Numerous tools have emerged to facilitate this generation of knowledge, such as dashboards. Although dashboards are useful tools, their effectiveness can be affected by poor design or by not taking into account the context in which they are placed. Therefore, it is necessary to design and create custom dashboards according to the audience and data domain. This paper presents an application of the software product line paradigm and the integration of this approach into a web service to allow users to request source code for customized information dashboards. The main goal is to introduce the idea of creating a holistic ecosystem of different services to craft and integrate information visualizations in a variety of contexts. One of the contexts that can be especially favored by this approach is the educational context, where learning analytics, data analysis of student performance, and didactic tools are becoming very relevant. Three different use cases of this approach are presented to illustrate the benefits of the developed generative service

Applying ISO 9126 metrics to MDD projects

The Model Driven Development (MDD) paradigm uses conceptual models to automatically generate software products by means of model transformations. This paradigm is strongly positioned in industry due to the quickly time to market of software products. Nevertheless, quality evaluation of software products is needed in order to obtain suitable products. Currently, there are several quality models to be applied in software products but they are not specific for conceptual models used in MDD projects. For this reason, it is important to propose a set of metrics to ensure the quality of models used in MDD approaches in order to avoid error propagation and the high cost of correction of final software applications. This paper analyzes the characteristics and sub-characteristics defined in the ISO/IEC 9126 quality model in order to reveal their applicability to MDD conceptual models.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Developing Web Applications For Different Architectures: The MoWebA Approach

This study presents the Architecture Specific Model (ASM) defined by the MoWebA approach to improve the development of web applications for different architectures. MoWebA is a model-driven approach to web applications development. The article presents a general overview of MoWebA, including the methodological aspects related to its modeling and transformation processes, the process of defining the ASM, and an example of an ASM model.CONACYT – Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

Developing a distributed electronic health-record store for India

The DIGHT project is addressing the problem of building a scalable and highly available information store for the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of the over one billion citizens of India

Model morphisms (MoMo) to enable language independent information models and interoperable business networks

MSc. Dissertation presented at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa to obtain the Master degree in Electrical and Computer EngineeringWith the event of globalisation, the opportunities for collaboration became more evident with the effect of enlarging business networks. In such conditions, a key for enterprise success is a reliable communication with all the partners. Therefore, organisations have been searching for flexible integrated environments to better manage their services and product life cycle, where their software applications could be easily integrated independently of the platform in use. However, with so many different information models and implementation standards being used, interoperability problems arise. Moreover,organisations are themselves at different technological maturity levels, and the solution that might be good for one, can be too advanced for another, or vice-versa. This dissertation responds to the above needs, proposing a high level meta-model to be used at the entire business network, enabling to abstract individual models from their specificities and increasing language independency and interoperability, while keeping all the enterprise legacy software‟s integrity intact. The strategy presented allows an incremental mapping construction, to achieve a gradual integration. To accomplish this, the author proposes Model Driven Architecture (MDA) based technologies for the development of traceable transformations and execution of automatic Model Morphisms