User interface requirements engineering : a scenario-based framework

Effective user interface is an important component to the success of an interactive system as any of the components that manage the underlying functionality of the system. The development of an effective user interfaces highly depends on the quality of the requirements where the end-user should be actively involved. Therefore, there is a need to accurately capture, interpret, and represent the voice of the end-user when specifying the user interface requirements. The objective of the thesis is to advance the state of the art in bridging the gap between specifying the User Interface Requirements for interactive systems on the one hand and the design and development of it on the other hand. Towards this objective, a software framework called SUCRE (acronym for Scenario and Use-Case based Requirements Engineering) was developed as a part of this thesis work. Use Case Maps (UCMs) that were introduced in the literature were examined and have been enriched with new visual notation for modeling and specifying the user interface requirements. This enriched UCM for User Interface (UCM-UI) model formed a basis for SUCRE. Thus, scenarios and use cases are used as a means to represent the user interface requirements and communicate with end-users. In addition, the thesis explores two other objectives, namely validation of user interface requirements and usability prediction of the intended user interface. SUCRE was used to build operators that validate the consistency, completeness, and precision of the UCM-UI model using heuristics for constructing a formal analysis of the requirements. SUCRE was also used to define a metrics suite to predict usability from scenarios and use cases. This metrics suite includes simple structural measures as well as content-sensitive and task-sensitive metrics. Considering the difficulties in the specification and design of user interfaces, the thesis aimed also to identify the need for a mix of both informal and formal representation in specifying user interface requirements. Therefore, SUCRE was successfully used to bridge the gap between the semi-formal requirement UCM-UI and detailed formal requirements such as UML, LOTOS specifications, and XML

The pros and cons of using SDL for creation of distributed services

In a competitive market for the creation of complex distributed services, time to market, development cost, maintenance and flexibility are key issues. Optimizing the development process is very much a matter of optimizing the technologies used during service creation. This paper reports on the experience gained in the Service Creation projects SCREEN and TOSCA on use of the language SDL for efficient service creation

XRound : A reversible template language and its application in model-based security analysis

Successful analysis of the models used in Model-Driven Development requires the ability to synthesise the results of analysis and automatically integrate these results with the models themselves. This paper presents a reversible template language called XRound which supports round-trip transformations between models and the logic used to encode system properties. A template processor that supports the language is described, and the use of the template language is illustrated by its application in an analysis workbench, designed to support analysis of security properties of UML and MOF-based models. As a result of using reversible templates, it is possible to seamlessly and automatically integrate the results of a security analysis with a model. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

An IMS-Learning Design Editor for a Higher Education Blended Learning Scenario

The IMS-Learning Design has been developed to support the creation of reusable and pedagogically neutral learning scenarios and content. Although it is especially suitable for eLearning, there is a lot of interest on using it in higher education blended learning scenarios. However there are some related key issues which must be managed such as cultural bias and the need for expensive human resources to design and develop specification compliant units of learning. They can be addressed by the design of ad-hoc editors supporting concrete learning design units of learning. We suggest some solutions to overcome these limitations, based on our experience designing the user interface of an IMS-LD compliant editor, GDUS+. We also explain our user centering approach, and give some conclusions about the benefits of using IMS-LD

A requirements engineering framework for integrated systems development for the construction industry

Computer Integrated Construction (CIC) systems are computer environments through which collaborative working can be undertaken. Although many CIC systems have been developed to demonstrate the communication and collaboration within the construction projects, the uptake of CICs by the industry is still inadequate. This is mainly due to the fact that research methodologies of the CIC development projects are incomplete to bridge the technology transfer gap. Therefore, defining comprehensive methodologies for the development of these systems and their effective implementation on real construction projects is vital. Requirements Engineering (RE) can contribute to the effective uptake of these systems because it drives the systems development for the targeted audience. This paper proposes a requirements engineering approach for industry driven CIC systems development. While some CIC systems are investigated to build a broad and deep contextual knowledge in the area, the EU funded research project, DIVERCITY (Distributed Virtual Workspace for Enhancing Communication within the Construction Industry), is analysed as the main case study project because its requirements engineering approach has the potential to determine a framework for the adaptation of requirements engineering in order to contribute towards the uptake of CIC systems

A formal verification framework and associated tools for enterprise modeling : application to UEML

The aim of this paper is to propose and apply a verification and validation approach to Enterprise Modeling that enables the user to improve the relevance and correctness, the suitability and coherence of a model by using properties specification and formal proof of properties

Finding and Resolving Security Misusability with Misusability Cases

Although widely used for both security and usability concerns, scenarios used in security design may not necessarily inform the design of usability, and vice- versa. One way of using scenarios to bridge security and usability involves explicitly describing how design deci- sions can lead to users inadvertently exploiting vulnera- bilities to carry out their production tasks. This paper describes how misusability cases, scenarios that describe how design decisions may lead to usability problems sub- sequently leading to system misuse, address this problem. We describe the related work upon which misusability cases are based before presenting the approach, and illus- trating its application using a case study example. Finally, we describe some findings from this approach that further inform the design of usable and secure systems