Process Patterns for Web Engineering

Abstract-Web Engineering has been enriched with processes and modeling languages that focus on the specific features of web-based systems, taking into account the special requirements and constraints that are associated with this specific context. Process Patterns, on the other hand, represent elements of knowledge and experience in software engineering; they also act as reusable method chunks that can be used for constructing bespoke methodologies that are tailored to fit specific project situations. We propose a set of process patterns based on current web development practices. A number of prominent web development methodologies have been studied, and a set of process patterns has been elicited through abstracting their commonalities and identifying the essential activities required in a web engineering endeavor. Furthermore, a web-based systems development framework has been proposed that organizes these patterns into a generic lifecycle. The process patterns can be instantiated and assembled into a high-level development process based on the generic framework proposed

Ontological Representations of Software Patterns

This paper is based on and advocates the trend in software engineering of extending the use of software patterns as means of structuring solutions to software development problems (be they motivated by best practice or by company interests and policies). The paper argues that, on the one hand, this development requires tools for automatic organisation, retrieval and explanation of software patterns. On the other hand, that the existence of such tools itself will facilitate the further development and employment of patterns in the software development process. The paper analyses existing pattern representations and concludes that they are inadequate for the kind of automation intended here. Adopting a standpoint similar to that taken in the semantic web, the paper proposes that feasible solutions can be built on the basis of ontological representations.Comment: 7 page

User interface patterns in recommendation-empowered content intensive multimedia applications

Design Patterns (DPs) are acknowledged as powerful conceptual tools to improve design quality and to reduce time and cost of the development process by effect of the reuse of “good” design solutions. In many fields (e.g., software engineering, web engineering, interface design) patterns are widely used by practitioners and are also investigated from a research perspective. Still, they have been seldom explored in the arena of Recommender Systems (RSs). RSs provide suggestions (“recommendations”) for items that are likely to be appropriate for the user profile, and are increasingly adopted in content-intensive multimedia applications to complement traditional forms of search in large information spaces. This paper explores RSs through the lens of User Interface (UI) Design Patterns. We have performed a systematic analysis of 54 recommendation-empowered content-intensive multimedia applications, in order to: (i) discover the occurrences of existing domain independent UI patterns; (ii) identify frequently adopted UI solutions that are not modelled by existing patterns, and define a set of new UI patterns, some of which are specific of the interfaces for recommendation features while others can be useful also in a broader context. The results of our inspection have been discussed with and evaluated by a team of experts, leading to a consolidated set of 14 new patterns that are reported in the paper. Reusing pattern-based design solutions instead of building new solutions from scratch enables novice and expert designers to build good UIs for Recommendation-empowered content intensive multimedia applications more effectively, and ultimately can improve the UX experience in this class of systems. From a broader perspective, our work can stimulate future research bridging Recommender Systems, Web Engineering and Interface Design by means of Design Patterns, and highlights new research directions also discussed in the paper

Intention-Driven Screenography

The visual design development of Web Information Systems is a complex task. At present, the process is mainly based on experiences and seems to be an immovable part of art. Typically, occurs a late consideration of graphical issues that results in inflexibility and cause problems for extension and change management. Database and software systems are mainly based on development phases such as requirement acquisition and elicitation and conceptual modelling. Moreover, users, their preferences and portfolio are taken into consideration. We show in this preprint that these approaches can be generalised to website presentation. We use methods developed for programming in the large, e.g. patterns. We can map patterns to conceptualisations of web page layout, i.e. grids. Patterns shall help us to reuse concepts. This paper introduces the concept of pattern and clarifies their structure and task for the whole development. Because the WIS development process is based on six dimensions, we initially introduce development dimensions and show the seamless integration of the pattern-based approach. We call the art of website layout screenography. Screenography extends web application engineering by scenographic and dramaturgic aspects and intends to support the interaction between system and user. Screenography aims at an individualised, decorated playout in consideration of intention, user profiles and portfolios, provider aims, context, equipment, functionality and the storyline progress. The users orientation of WIS requires the deep integration of user concerns, tasks and expectations into screenography. Therefore, this paper develops concepts of intention- driven screenography

An Analysis of Engineering Faculty Patterns of Usage of Library Resources on a Small Commuter University Campus

It has been routinely observed that the engineering and technology faculty at our campus do not make significant use of library services in order to search for background material supporting their research and teaching activities. A study was conducted within the engineering and technology faculty using a survey to gather information about faculty search activities, library service usage patterns, and opinions of whether faculty members would like to use the services of the university reference librarian. The analysis of the results of the survey found that almost all the faculty accumulate background research material by performing independent online searches. However, it was also learned that they would unanimously like to use the resources of a reference librarian for their search activities, even though they currently do not. These conclusions led us to propose a process for enhanced outreach from the library and the design of a web-based form for easy request of searches from a reference librarian for the faculty\u27s research and teaching activities

Negotiating the Web Science Curriculum through Shared Educational Artefacts

EXTENDED ABSTRACT The far-reaching impact of Web on society is widely recognised and acknowledged. The interdisciplinary study of this impact has crystallised in the field of study known as Web Science. However, defining an agreed, shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science requires complex negotiation and translations of understandings across component disciplines, national cultures and educational traditions. Some individual institutions have already established particular curricula, and discussions in the Web Science Curriculum Workshop series have marked the territory to some extent. This paper reports on a process being adopted across a consortium of partners to systematically create a shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science. It records and critiques the processes instantiated to agree a common curriculum, and presents a framework for future discussion and development. The need to study the Web in its complexity, development and impact led to the creation of Web Science. Web Science is inherently interdisciplinary. Its goal is to: a) understand the Web growth mechanisms; b) create approaches that allow new powerful and more beneficial mechanisms to occur. Teaching Web Science is a unique experience since the emerging discipline is a combination of two essential features. On one hand, the analysis of microscopic laws extrapolated to the macroscopic realm generates observed behaviour. On the other hand languages and algorithms on the Web are built in order to produce novel desired computer behaviour that should be put in context. Finding a suitable curriculum that is different from the study of language, algorithms, interaction patterns and business processes is thus an important and challenging task for the simple reason that we believe that the future of sociotechnical systems will be in their innovative power (inventing new ways to solve problems), rather than their capacity to optimize current practices. The Web Science Curriculum Development (WSCD) Project focuses European expertise in this interdisciplinary endeavour with the ultimate aim of designing a joint masters program for Web Science between the partner universities. The process of curriculum definition is being addressed using a negotiation process which mirrors the web science and engineering approach described by Berners-Lee (figure 1 below). The process starts on the engineering side (right). From the technical design point of view the consortium is creating an open repository of shared educational artefacts using EdShare [1] (based on EPrints) to collect or reference the whole range of educational resources being used in our various programmes. Socially, these resources will be annotated against a curriculum categorization [2] which in itself is subject to negotiation and change, currently via a wiki. This last process is represented by complexity and collaboration at the bottom of the diagram. The resources necessarily extend beyond artefacts used in the lecture and seminar room encompassing artefacts associated with the administrative and organisational processes which are necessary to assure the comparability of the educational resources and underwrite the quality standards of the associated awards. Figure 1: Web Science and Engineering Approach (e.g. See http://www.w3.org/2007/Talks/0314-soton-tbl/#%2811%29) From the social point of view the contributions will be discussed and peer reviewed by members of the consortium. Our intention is that by sharing the individual components of the teaching and educational process and quality assuring them by peer review we will provide concrete examples of our understanding of the discipline. However, as Berners-Lee observes, it is in the move from the micro to the macro that the magic (complexity) is involved. The challenge for our consortium, once our community repository is adequately populated, is to involve the wider community in the contribution, discussion and annotation that will lead to the evolution of a negotiated and agreed but evolving curriculum for Web Science. Others have worked on using community approaches to developing curriculum. For example, in the Computer Science community there is a repository of existing syllabi [3] that enables designers of new courses to understand how others have approached the problem, and the Information Science community is using a wiki [4] to enable the whole community to contribute to the dynamic development of the curriculum. What makes this project unique is that rather than taking a top down structured approach to curriculum definition it takes a bottom up approach, using the actual teaching materials as the basis on which to iteratively negotiate and refine the definition of the curriculum

Negotiating the Web Science Curriculum through Shared Educational Artefacts

EXTENDED ABSTRACT The far-reaching impact of Web on society is widely recognised and acknowledged. The interdisciplinary study of this impact has crystallised in the field of study known as Web Science. However, defining an agreed, shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science requires complex negotiation and translations of understandings across component disciplines, national cultures and educational traditions. Some individual institutions have already established particular curricula, and discussions in the Web Science Curriculum Workshop series have marked the territory to some extent. This paper reports on a process being adopted across a consortium of partners to systematically create a shared understanding of what constitutes Web Science. It records and critiques the processes instantiated to agree a common curriculum, and presents a framework for future discussion and development. The need to study the Web in its complexity, development and impact led to the creation of Web Science. Web Science is inherently interdisciplinary. Its goal is to: a) understand the Web growth mechanisms; b) create approaches that allow new powerful and more beneficial mechanisms to occur. Teaching Web Science is a unique experience since the emerging discipline is a combination of two essential features. On one hand, the analysis of microscopic laws extrapolated to the macroscopic realm generates observed behaviour. On the other hand languages and algorithms on the Web are built in order to produce novel desired computer behaviour that should be put in context. Finding a suitable curriculum that is different from the study of language, algorithms, interaction patterns and business processes is thus an important and challenging task for the simple reason that we believe that the future of sociotechnical systems will be in their innovative power (inventing new ways to solve problems), rather than their capacity to optimize current practices. The Web Science Curriculum Development (WSCD) Project focuses European expertise in this interdisciplinary endeavour with the ultimate aim of designing a joint masters program for Web Science between the partner universities. The process of curriculum definition is being addressed using a negotiation process which mirrors the web science and engineering approach described by Berners-Lee (figure 1 below). The process starts on the engineering side (right). From the technical design point of view the consortium is creating an open repository of shared educational artefacts using EdShare [1] (based on EPrints) to collect or reference the whole range of educational resources being used in our various programmes. Socially, these resources will be annotated against a curriculum categorization [2] which in itself is subject to negotiation and change, currently via a wiki. This last process is represented by complexity and collaboration at the bottom of the diagram. The resources necessarily extend beyond artefacts used in the lecture and seminar room encompassing artefacts associated with the administrative and organisational processes which are necessary to assure the comparability of the educational resources and underwrite the quality standards of the associated awards. Figure 1: Web Science and Engineering Approach (e.g. See http://www.w3.org/2007/Talks/0314-soton-tbl/#%2811%29) From the social point of view the contributions will be discussed and peer reviewed by members of the consortium. Our intention is that by sharing the individual components of the teaching and educational process and quality assuring them by peer review we will provide concrete examples of our understanding of the discipline. However, as Berners-Lee observes, it is in the move from the micro to the macro that the magic (complexity) is involved. The challenge for our consortium, once our community repository is adequately populated, is to involve the wider community in the contribution, discussion and annotation that will lead to the evolution of a negotiated and agreed but evolving curriculum for Web Science. Others have worked on using community approaches to developing curriculum. For example, in the Computer Science community there is a repository of existing syllabi [3] that enables designers of new courses to understand how others have approached the problem, and the Information Science community is using a wiki [4] to enable the whole community to contribute to the dynamic development of the curriculum. What makes this project unique is that rather than taking a top down structured approach to curriculum definition it takes a bottom up approach, using the actual teaching materials as the basis on which to iteratively negotiate and refine the definition of the curriculum

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In modern organisations business process modelling has become fundamental due to the increasing rate of organisational change. As a consequence, an organisation needs to continuously redesign its business processes on a regular basis. One major problem associated with the way business process modelling (BPM) is carried out today is the lack of explicit and systematic reuse of previously developed models. Enabling the reuse of previously modelled behaviour can have a beneficial impact on the quality and efficiency of the overall information systems development process and also improve the effectiveness of an organisation’s business processes. In related disciplines, like software engineering, patterns have emerged as a widely accepted architectural mechanism for reusing solutions. In business process modelling the use of patterns is quite limited apart from few sporadic attempts proposed by the literature. Thus, pattern-based BPM is not commonplace. Business process patterns should ideally be discovered from the empirical analysis of organisational processes. Empiricism is currently not the basis for the discovery of patterns for business process modelling and no systematic methodology for collecting and analysing process models of business organisations currently exists. The purpose of the presented research project is to develop a methodological framework for achieving reuse in BPM via the discovery and adoption of patterns. The framework is called Semantic Discovery and Reuse of Business Process Patterns (SDR). SDR provides a systematic method for identifying patterns among organisational data assets representing business behaviour. The framework adopts ontologies (i.e., formalised conceptual models of real-world domains) in order to facilitate such discovery. The research has also produced an ontology of business processes that provides the underlying semantic definitions of processes and their constituent parts. The use of ontologies to model business processes represents a novel approach and combines advances achieved by the Semantic Web and BPM communities. The methodological framework also relates to a new line of research in BPM on declarative business processes in which the models specify what should be done rather than how to ‘prescriptively’ do it. The research follows a design science method for designing and evaluating SDR. Evaluation is carried out using real world sources and reuse scenarios taken from both the financial and educational domains

Towards a re-engineering method for web services architectures

Recent developments in Web technologies – in particular through the Web services framework – have greatly enhanced the flexible and interoperable implementation of service-oriented software architectures. Many older Web-based and other distributed software systems will be re-engineered to a Web services-oriented platform. Using an advanced e-learning system as our case study, we investigate central aspects of a re-engineering approach for the Web services platform. Since our aim is to provide components of the legacy system also as services in the new platform, re-engineering to suit the new development paradigm is as important as re-engineering to suit the new architectural requirements