Formal specification of human-computer interfaces

A high-level formal specification of a human computer interface is described. Previous work is reviewed and the ASLAN specification language is described. Top-level specifications written in ASLAN for a library and a multiwindow interface are discussed

When Information Technology Design Favors Form over Function: Where is the Value-Added “Tipping Point”?

Performing usability analysis early in the design process results in lower overall development, deployment, and maintenance costs. Pre-development user and task analysis through questionnaires, observation, low-fidelity prototyping, and usability testing enables productive interactive testing of subsequent operable system prototypes. This helps assure a positive return on investment in information technology. When usercentered design assessment is supplanted by assumptions about user, task, and work environment, the result is often production of applications embellished with functionality unrelated to the user’s task. Surveys were administered to elicit user perception of system usability and usefulness and of satisfaction with intra-team interaction. This was the first step in determining the relationship between form and function for users of a Synchronous Distributed- Decision Support System (SD-DSS). It was anticipated that the teamwork process would be most troublesome while the SD-DSS would be perceived as easy to use and functional. The reverse proved to be the case

Automating testbed documentation and database access using World Wide Web (WWW) tools

A method for providing uniform transparent access to disparate distributed information systems was demonstrated. A prototype testing interface was developed to access documentation and information using publicly available hypermedia tools. The prototype gives testers a uniform, platform-independent user interface to on-line documentation, user manuals, and mission-specific test and operations data. Mosaic was the common user interface, and HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) provided hypertext capability

Using Formal Methods and Object-Oriented Analysis to Reverse Engineer Shuttle Software

Correctness is an important issue in safety-critical software control systems. Unfortunately, failures in critical segments of software for medical equipment, communications, and defense are familiar to the public. Such incidents motivate the use of software development techniques that reduce errors and detect defects. The benefits of applying formal methods in requirements-driven software development (forward engineering) are well-documented; formal notations are precise, verifiable, and facilitate automated processing. This paper describes the application of formal methods and objectoriented modeling to reverse engineering, in which formal specifications are developed for existing, or legacy, code. In this project, several layers of formal specifications were constructed for a portion of the NASA Space Shuttle Digital Auto Pilot (DAP), a software module that is used to control the position of the spacecraft through appropriate jet firings. The reverse engineering process was facilita..

Applying Formal Methods and Object-Oriented Analysis to Existing Flight Software

Correctness is paramount for safety-critical software control systems. Critical software failures in medical radiation treatment, communications, and defense are familiar to the public. The significant quantity of software malfunctions regularly reported to the software engineering community, the laws concerning liability, and a recent NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board report additionally motivate the use of error-reducing and defect detection software development techniques. The benefits of formal methods in requirementsdriven software development ("forward engineering") is well documented. One advantage of rigorously engineering software is that formal notations are precise, verifiable, and facilitate automated processing. This paper describes the application of formal methods to reverse engineering, where formal specifications are developed for a portion of the shuttle on-orbit digital autopilot (DAP). Three objectives of the project were to: demonstrate the use of formal ..

Automated Categorization of Real-time Newswire Stories or Hooked on Lexiconics: How I taught my Sun to read

Modern international trade activities rely heavily on thousands of daily information artifacts reporting the state of the world's trading blocks. These information artifacts often require handling by human operators for indexing, sorting, and categorization. Intervention by human operators costs precious hours in the dissemination of these artifacts to end users. This paper describes the information recognition capability that the California Agricultural Technology Institute (CATI) developed as part of its Advanced Technologies Information Network (ATI-Net). The capability includes software using statistical analysis of previously human-recognized documents in order to seed information recognition databases. The recognition databases are used by automated recognition software to classify and store information artifacts without human intervention. This software is discussed with reference to two ATI-Net projects: automatic storage of newspaper articles into categories of interest to the..