Design Features for the Social Web: The Architecture of Deme

We characterize the "social Web" and argue for several features that are desirable for users of socially oriented web applications. We describe the architecture of Deme, a web content management system (WCMS) and extensible framework, and show how it implements these desired features. We then compare Deme on our desiderata with other web technologies: traditional HTML, previous open source WCMSs (illustrated by Drupal), commercial Web 2.0 applications, and open-source, object-oriented web application frameworks. The analysis suggests that a WCMS can be well suited to building social websites if it makes more of the features of object-oriented programming, such as polymorphism, and class inheritance, available to non-programmers in an accessible vocabulary.Comment: Appeared in Luis Olsina, Oscar Pastor, Daniel Schwabe, Gustavo Rossi, and Marco Winckler (Editors), Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Web-Oriented Software Technologies (IWWOST 2009), CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Volume 493, August 2009, pp. 40-51; 12 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Design of formal languages and interfaces: "formal" does not mean "unreadable".

This chapter provides an introduction to a work that aims to apply the achievements of engineering psychology to the area of formal methods, focusing on the specification phase of a system development process. Formal methods often assume that only two factors should be satisfied: the method must be sound and give such a representation, which is concise and beautiful from the mathematical point of view, without taking into account any question of readability, usability, or tool support. This leads to the fact that formal methods are treated by most engineers as something that is theoretically important but practically too hard to understand and to use, where even some small changes of a formal method can make it more understandable and usable for an average engineer

Student Exchange Program Web Based Application System (Outbound)

One of the objectives of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) is to produce well-rounded graduates who are creative and innovative with the potential to become leaders of industry and the nation. In order to achieve this objective, UTP offered Student Exchange Program (SEP) to the local and international students which manage by Centre of Student Internship, Mobility, and Adjunct Lectureship (CSIMAL). In Malaysia, student exchange program (SEP) has widely offered by the public and private universities, but UTP still using the traditional system to allow the students to apply for an exchange program and to manage the applications received in paper-based form. A web based application system named Student Exchange Program System will be developed to replace the traditional system used by the CSIMAL. SEP system is focus mainly for outbound application which is enable UTP student to undergo exchange program in the partner institution by applying through online application system. Qualitative research methodology is used to extract the information needed from the main stakeholder of the system, CSIMAL. Several interview sessions conducted with the CSIMAL to gain deep understanding on the problem faced by the students and CSIMAL staff and to gather all required data to develop SEP system. Rapid Application Development is used as the development methodology which focuses on the implementation of development of SEP system. All the information regarding Student Exchange Program is shared in this system. The SEP system will ease the student effort to apply for student exchange program through an online application system and can easily check their application status. CSIMAL can manage the applications received through SEP system and update the application status which automatically will notify the students. This system will overcome the high chance of missing and losing the hardcopy of the application records

Tackling the Design of Platform-Based Service Systems, Integrating Data and Cultures: The Case of Urban Markets

Different design traditions address the design of services. When adopted alone, they can limit design, especially if services systems are complex. Some combinations among service design traditions are theorized in the literature and a cultural synthesis is considered a priority. This paper discusses a practical application of that synthesis: systematic/data-driven methods from engineering and service innovation are applied within a participatory and transformative environment. Intangible versus material and functional versus experience service elements are considered. The case study on urban markets shows that economics and the transactional/functional mechanics of a service system must be understood for proper design actions, and that overcoming separations between strands of literature is necessary to achieve this aim. Moreover, since urban markets are two-sided platforms in a physical setting, the study allows easier investigation than in modern digital platforms regarding how platform economics affect the design of a service system, providing insights for digital services as well. Originality is due to generally scant contributions on urban market design, since markets are often regulated, rather than designed, beyond the rare practical attempts of cultural synthesis