Enes Yigitbas

A Model-Based Framework for Multi-Adaptive Migratory User Interfaces

Nowadays users are surrounded by a broad range of networked interaction devices for carrying out their everyday activities. Flexible and natural interaction with such devices in a seamless manner remains a challenging problem, as many different contexts of use (platform, user, and environment) have to be supported. In this regard, enabling task continuity by preserving the user interface’s state and adapting it to the changing context of use can help to improve user experience despite possible device changes. The development of such multi-adaptive migratory user interfaces (MAMUIs) involves several challenges for developers that are partially addressed by frameworks like CAMELEON-RT. However, supporting the development of user interfaces with adaptation and migration capabilities is still a challenging task. In this paper, we present an integrated model-based framework for supporting the development of MAMUIs.

Engineering Context-Adaptive UIs for Task-Continuous Cross-Channel Applications

The user interfaces (UIs) of interactive systems become increasingly complex since many heterogeneous and dynamically changing contexts of use (platform, user, and environment) have to be supported. Developing UIs for such interactive systems often requires features like UI adaptivity and seamless task-continuity across devices, demanding for sophisticated UI development processes and methods. While existing engineering methods like human-centered design process and model-based UI development approaches serve as a good starting point, an integrated engineering process addressing specific requirements of adaptive UIs supporting task-continuity across different devices is not fully covered. Therefore, we present a model-based engineering approach for building context-adaptive UIs that enable a personalized, flexible and task-continuous usage of cross-channel applications. Our engineering approach supports modeling, transformation and execution of context-adaptive UIs. To show the feasibility of our approach, we present an industrial case study, where we implement context-adaptive UIs for a cross-channel banking application.

Model-driven specification of adaptive cloud-based systems

In cloud-based systems, business process models compose loosely coupled services to fulfill a certain goal. In order to ensure a high quality of service (QoS) of these systems, irregularities and violations need to be detected and handled at runtime by adapting the system. As a consequence, engineering such systems requires an explicit modeling of adaptation rules, which define how the system is adapted under certain conditions. These rules are defined based on models that specify QoS agreements as well as service bindings and business processes that are adapted. In this paper, we present a modeling approach for adaptive, cloud-based systems which supports the explicit specification of adaptation rules. We are introducing a metamodel for specifying bindings between business processes and cloud services considering Service Level Agreements that define the required QoS. In order to express adaptations of business processes on different levels of granularity, we are using an extended metamodel including fragments that group multiple process elements.

Description Languages for Consistency Management Scenarios Based on Examples from the Industry Automation Domain

To cope with the increasing complexity of developing and maintaining modern (software) systems, multiple abstractions (models) of the same system can be established and used to allow different domain experts to collaborate and contribute their respective expertise. This divide-and-conquer, model-based approach requires, however, support for a concurrent engineering process, i.e., providing a means of checking, restoring, and ensuring the consistency of all involved and concurrently maintained models. The task of providing such support is often referred to as consistency management. Although there exist various approaches to consistency management and numerous (industrial) case studies described in the literature on bidirectional transformations (bx), there is currently no uniform description of diverse but related industrial applications of model synchronisation and other forms of consistency management. This makes it challenging to detect similarities and differences related to requirements, constraints, applied techniques and tools. It is thus difficult to compare and transfer knowledge gained from (successful) projects to other bx approaches or even other bx tools for the same general approach. In this paper, therefore, we propose a description language for envisioned scenarios in the problem domain of consistency management, as well as a complementary description language for solution strategies in terms of method fragments and method patterns in the solution domain of Model-Driven Engineering (MDE). Our work is inspired by previous research in the bx and MDE communities, and is also based on our collective experience from over ten years of investigating a series of application scenarios in the industry automation section together with Siemens AG as an industrial partner. [Abridged due to arXiv]

Self-adaptive UIs: Integrated Model-Driven Development of UIs and Their Adaptations

Self-adaptive UIs have been promoted as a solution for context variability due to their ability to automatically adapt to the context-of-use at runtime. In classical model-driven UI development (MDUID) approaches, self-adaptivity and context management introduce additional complexity since self-adaptation features are distributed in a cross-cutting manner at various locations in the models. This results in a tightly interwoven model landscape that is hard to understand and maintain. In this paper, we present an integrated model-driven development method where a classical model-driven development of UIs is coupled with a separate model-driven development of UI adaptation rules and context-of-use. We base our approach on the core UI modeling language IFML, and focus on a new modeling language for adaptation rules, called AdaptUI. We show how generated UI code is coupled with adaptation services generated from AdaptUI adaptation rules and integrated in an overall UI framework. This allows runtime UI adaptation realized by an automatic reaction to context-of-use changes. The benefit of our approach is demonstrated by a case study, showing the development of self-adaptive UIs for a university library application, utilizing the Angular 2 JavaScript framework.

Multi-device UI Development for Task-Continuous Cross-Channel Web Applications

The growing number of various types of web-enabled smart devices presents a special challenge for retail banks. In the world of Omni-Channel-Banking, customers demand a flexible and easy usage for carrying out their banking activities. Establishing such an Omni-Channel-Banking experience is a challenging task that requires support for the development of heterogeneous user interfaces (UIs) allowing flexible access to different channels (e.g. PC, Smartphone, ATM) and a seamless hand-over between these channels to allow task-continuity for the customer. Therefore, we present a model-based solution architecture for the development of multi-device UIs. Our solution architecture minimizes recurrent UI development efforts for different channels and enables data synchronization between them. To show the feasibility of our approach, we present an industrial case study, where we implement a cross-channel banking web-application that enables a modern customer experience.

Model-Based Development of Adaptive UIs for Multi-channel Self-service Systems

Self-Service Systems are technically complex and provide products and services to end users. Due to the heterogeneity of the users of such systems and their short residence time, the usability of a systems user interface is of great importance. Currently, an intuitive and flexible usage is often limited because of the monolithic system architecture of existing Self-Service Systems. Furthermore, todays Self-Service Systems represent the one-and-only endpoint of communication with a customer when processing a transaction. The integration of the customers personal computing devices, like desktop PC, notebook, and smartphone is not sufficiently covered yet. In order to tackle these problems, we have established a methodology for developing adaptive UIs for Multi-Channel Self-Services where a customer may, for example, start a transaction on a PC at home, modify it with the smartphone, and finally finish it at a Self-Service terminal. In this paper we describe our integrated model-based approach for the development of adaptive user interfaces for distributed Multi-Channel Self-Service Systems.

Adapt-UI: an IDE supporting model-driven development of self-adaptive UIs

Self-adaptive UIs (SAUIs) have been promoted as a solution for context variability due to their ability to automatically adapt to the context-of-use at runtime. The development of SAUIs is a complex task since self-adaptivity and context management aspects have to be incorporated in the UI development process. In this paper, we present an integrated development environment (IDE) for model-driven development of SAUIs. This IDE, named Adapt-UI, provides integrated views for UI, context and adaptation modeling. Based on the specified models, final UI code and context as well as adaptation services are generated and integrated in an overall UI framework. This allows runtime UI adaptation realized by an automatic reaction to context-of-use changes. The benefit of our approach is demonstrated by a case study, showing the development of self-adaptive UIs for a university library application, utilizing the Angular 2 JavaScript framework.

Model-Based User Interface Development for Adaptive Self-Service Systems

Self-service systems are complex technical systems and provide products and services for the end user. Due to heterogeneity of the users of such systems the usability of the user interfaces is of great importance. The user interfaces have to be adapted or adapt itself to the various skills and preferences of the users. Due to the monolithic system architecture of existing self-service systems, a simple and flexible usage of the user interface is often restricted. The development of adaptive user interfaces involves challenges for developers that are addressed partially by frameworks like the CAMELEON Reference Framework (CRF). However, no concrete approaches to support the development of flexible and adaptive user interfaces for distributed self-service systems exist in industry. In this paper we describe an integrated model-based approach for the development of adaptive user interfaces.

Bidirectional Method Patterns for Language Editor Migration

Language editors play an important role in a Model-Driven Engineering context, as they enable the productive use of Domain Specific Languages (DSLs). To support language editor development, numerous language editor frameworks exist including extensible UML tools such as Enterprise Architect and textual language editor frameworks such as Xtext. When maintaining DSL-based software systems, language editor migration is an important task, which can be well supported with bidirectional transformation (bx) languages. There currently exists, however, no systematic guidelines describing why, when, and how bx languages can be leveraged for language editor migration. In this paper, therefore, we analyse the problem and solution domains for language editor migration, identifying and describing a set of reusable solution strategies that support assessing the potential and advantages of using bx languages in this context.