End-user composition of interactive applications through actionable UI components

Developing interactive systems to access and manipulate data is a very tough task. In particular, the development of user interfaces (UIs) is one of the most time-consuming activities in the software lifecycle. This is even more demanding when data have to be retrieved by accessing flexibly different online resources. Indeed, software development is moving more and more toward composite applications that aggregate on the fly specific Web services and APIs. In this article, we present a mashup model that describes the integration, at the presentation layer, of UI components. The goal is to allow non-technical end users to visualize and manipulate (i.e., to perform actions on) the data displayed by the components, which thus become actionable UI components. This article shows how the model has guided the development of a mashup platform through which non-technical end users can create component-based interactive workspaces via the aggregation and manipulation of data fetched from distributed online resources. Due to the abundance of online data sources, facilitating the creation of such interactive workspaces is a very relevant need that emerges in different contexts. A utilization study has been performed in order to assess the benefits of the proposed model and of the Actionable UI Components; participants were required to perform real tasks using the mashup platform. The study results are reported and discussed

IS Design Principles for Empowering Domain Experts in Innovation: Findings From Three Case Studies

Today a significant part of innovation activities in firms is carried out within innovation networks of cooperating enterprises. In such networks, one key challenge is to provide software that enables to systematically share and adaptively integrate knowledge between the partners’ domains of expertise. One potential answer is to apply application software that allows for end-user or domain expert configuration. We provide preliminary empiric evidence from a field test of an expert-configurable collaborative information system in three innovation networks. In a three-year qualitative study, we have identified challenges to software support originating from knowledge, methodical and relational diversity in the networks. We formulate design challenges and design principles relevant for developing and applying domain expert-configurable software. We provide insights into the significance of related user roles in cooperative innovation projects, and offer the role of ‘facilitators’ as mediating agents in application configuration

A Usability Evaluation Framework for

Currently, more than two billions people access the Web for various purposes. The majority are people without programming or modelling background. Part of these people (called end-users) also likes to create their own Web applications to meet their daily needs. Mashup Makers are tools to create such end-user’s Web applications. As such, Mashup Makers could become the dominant environment for end-user development of Web applications. Existing Mashup Makers promise that creating a Web Mashup is very easy and just a matter of a few mouse clicks. However, there is no evidence that this is indeed the case. On the contrary, research has already revealed usability problems with Mashup Makers. Therefore, this thesis concentrates on the usability of Mashup Makers as development environments for Web applications for end-users. Usability is a key issue for the success of software artifacts, and especially if the artifacts are intended for non-technical users. Therefore, we target the achievement of a consolidated approach, model, and framework for the evaluation of the usability of Mashup Makers for end-users. Such a framework will not only allow evaluating the usability of existing Mashup Makers, but it will also provide key issues concerning usability (ie usability impact factors) that developers of Mashup Makers and of other future end-user development tools can take into consideration when developing new tools

The intersection of people, technology and local space. PPGIS and Web in practice for participatory planning

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesThis study concerns about the contributions of Web 2.0 tools to Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) and of PPGIS to participatory planning. Web 2.0 tools are increasingly occupying an important role in the universe of geographic information consciousness. Both Web 2.0 and PPGIS are about decentralization, public mapping, and local knowledge, encouraging throughout productive results. The project develops a Web 2.0 PPGIS mashup application through free, easy-to-use tools. It consists of a Web mapping service, with eligible GI layers, where users explore and comment. A database stores the contributions in a format supported by GIS. Finally, we set a first version at Canela – Brazil, to test the usefulness of the method on a real planning scenario. Results shown it is a valuable approach for engaging the public in participatory planning. It promotes communications among users and with decision makers in a more interactive and straightforward way. The Web 2.0 PPGIS is easy to set and understandable by nonexperts, and can be easily applied on other contexts