Task Flow Modeling in Electronic Business Environments

In recent years, internet based commerce has developed as a new paradigm. Many factors such as "at home delivery", easy ordering, and usually lower prices contributed to the success of the e-commerce. However, more recently, companies realized that one of the major factors in having a successful internet based business is the design of a user interface that is in concordance with the users' expectations, which includes both functionality and user friendly features. The func-tionality feature of an e-business interface is one of the most important elements when discussing about a specific internet based business. In our paper, we present methods to model task flows for e-business interfaces. We strengthen our study with the design modeling of a practical scenario that may appear in an on-line commercial environment.task flow, e-business, hierarchical model, user interface, human-computer interaction

Engineering adaptive user interfaces for enterprise applications

The user interface (UI) layer is considered an important component in software applications since it links the users to the software’s functionality. Enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems have very complex UIs that are used by users with diverse needs in terms of the required features and layout preferences. The inability to cater for the variety of user needs diminishes the usability of these applications. One way to cater for those needs is through adaptive UIs. Some enterprise software providers offer mechanisms for tailoring UIs based on the variable user needs, yet those are not generic enough to be used with other applications and require maintaining multiple UI copies manually. A generic platform based on a model-driven approach could be more reusable since operating on the model level makes it technology independent. The main objective of this research is devising a generic, scalable, and extensible platform for building adaptive enterprise application UIs based on a runtime model-driven approach. This platform primarily targets UI simplification, which we defined as a mechanism for increasing usability through adaptive behavior by providing users with a minimal feature-set and an optimal layout based on the context-of-use. This paper provides an overview of the research questions and methodology, the results that were achieved so far, and the remaining work

A Model-based Approach for Test Cases Generation

International audienceThe analytical methods based on evaluation models of interactive systems were proposed as an alternative to user testing in the last stages of the software development due to its costs. However, the use of isolated behavioral models of the system limits the results of the analytical methods. An example of these limitations relates to the fact that they are unable to identify implementation issues that will impact on usability. With the introduction of model-based testing we are enable to test if the implemented software meets the specified model. This paper presents an model-based approach for test cases generation from the static analysis of source code

Towards an Integrated Development Environment for Context-Aware User Interfaces

The emergence of mobile computing devices brings along the fact that users interact with computers in various environments. The user interface of a mobile system can be affected by environmental context. Several approaches succeed in providing architectures and frameworks to support the building and reuse of software components considering context information. Taking into account context information in designing the interaction of a system, however, has not yet been extensively investigated. In this paper we will discuss an Integrated Development Environment, DynaMo-AID, we are developing to support the design, prototyping, evaluation and deployment of context-aware interactive systems

Bridging the gap: building better tools for game development

The following thesis is about questioning how we design game making tools, and how developers may build easier tools to use. It is about the highlighting the inadequacies of current game making programs as well as introducing Goal-Oriented Design as a possible solution. It is also about the processes of digital product development, and reflecting on the necessity for both design and development methods to work cohesively for meaningful results. Interaction Design is in essence the abstracting of key relations that matter to the contextual environment. The result of attempting to tie the Interaction Design principles, Game Design issues together with Software Development practices has led to the production of the User-Centred game engine, PlayBoard

Cedar Studio: an IDE supporting adaptive model-driven user interfaces for enterprise applications

Support tools are necessary for the adoption of model-driven engineering of adaptive user interfaces (UI). Enterprise applications in particular, require a tool that could be used by developers as well as I.T. personnel during all the development and post-development phases. An IDE that supports adaptive model-driven enterprise UIs could further promote the adoption of this approach. This paper describes Cedar Studio, our IDE for building adaptive model-driven UIs based on the CEDAR reference architecture for adaptive UIs. This IDE provides visual design and code editing tools for UI models and adaptive behavior. It is evaluated conceptually using a set of criteria from the literature and applied practically by devising example adaptive enterprise user interfaces

FlexiXML: Um animador de modelos UsiXML

Uma parte considerável do desenvolvimento de software é dedicada à camada de interacção com o utilizador. Face à complexidade inerente ao desenvolvimento desta camada, é importante possibilitar uma análise tão cedo quanto possível dos conceitos e ideias em desenvolvimento para uma dada interface. O desenvolvimento baseado em modelos fornece uma solução para este problema ao facilitar a prototipagem de interfaces a partir dos modelos desenvolvidos. Este artigo descreve uma abordagem à prototipagem de interfaces e apresenta a primeira versão da ferramenta FlexiXML que realiza a interpretação e animação de interfaces descritas em UsiXML

Pattern languages in HCI: A critical review

This article presents a critical review of patterns and pattern languages in human-computer interaction (HCI). In recent years, patterns and pattern languages have received considerable attention in HCI for their potential as a means for developing and communicating information and knowledge to support good design. This review examines the background to patterns and pattern languages in HCI, and seeks to locate pattern languages in relation to other approaches to interaction design. The review explores four key issues: What is a pattern? What is a pattern language? How are patterns and pattern languages used? and How are values reflected in the pattern-based approach to design? Following on from the review, a future research agenda is proposed for patterns and pattern languages in HCI