A Pattern Based Approach to Defining the Dynamic Infrastructure of UML 2.0

The 2U Consortium has recently submitted a proposal for the definition of the UML 2.0 infrastructure. This uses an innovative technique of rapidly “stamping out” the definition using a small number of patterns commonly found in software architecture. The patterns, their instantiation, and any further language details are described using precise class diagrams and OCL, this enables the definition to be easily understood. The main focus of the 2U approach is on the static part of the definition. A further concern when modelling software, using languages such as the UML, is describing the dynamic behaviour of the system over time. The contribution of this paper is to provide a template that can be used to “stamp out” the dynamic part of the UML 2.0 infrastructure. We argue for the suitability of the dynamic template because it makes little commitment to concrete abstractions and can, therefore, be used to support a broad spectrum of behavioural languages

Virtual object specification for usable virtual environments

The specification of virtual world objects is an important part of virtual environment design. However, identifying the required level of behaviour and geometric decomposition for virtual objects in a particular application is difficult and error-prone. This has implications for usability as the behaviour of objects gives strong cues to potential interaction. A fundamental step in tackling usability problems is the specification of virtual world objects early in the design phase. This paper presents a method for virtual object specification using task-based scenarios

Requirements for Prototyping the Behaviour of Virtual Environments

Recent research has revealed that despite the development of novel interaction techniques, some of the main problems users experience in virtual environments relate to interaction. We believe that the integration of behavioural prototyping into the development cycle of virtual environments will provide a means of verifying that interaction techniques meet user requirements. In this paper we propose that a formal behavioural specification is a good starting point for the prototype because it makes it possible to perform initially behavioural verifications as well as distancing from implementation influences. The remainder of the paper explores issues which pertain to refining such a specification to a prototype. 1 Introduction One focus of research within the virtual environment community has been the development of novel interaction techniques (see for example [5, 13, 8]). Despite this effort, recent findings have concluded that the main problems users experience with virtual..