Francisco Montero

Towards an Extended Model of User Interface Adaptation: The Isatine Framework

In order to cover the complete process of user interface adaptation, this paper extends Dieterichs taxonomy of user interface adaptation by specializing Normans theory of action into the I satine framework. This framework decomposes user interface adaptation into seven stages of adaptation: goals for adaptation, initiative, specification, application, transition, interpretation, and evaluation. The purpose of each stage is defined and could be ensured respectively by the user, the interactive system, a third party, or any combination of these entities. The potential collaboration between these entities suggests defining additional support operations such as negotiation, transfer, and delegation. The variation and the complexity of adaptation configurations induced by the framework invited us to introduce a multi-agent adaptation engine, whose each agent is responsible for achieving one stage at a time (preferably) or a combination of them (in practice). In this engine, the adaptation rules are explicitly encoded in a knowledge base, from which they can be retrieved on demand and executed. In particular, the application of adaptation rules is ensured by examining the definition of each adaptation rule and by interpreting them at run-time, based on a graph transformation system. The motivations for this multi-agent system are explained and the implementation of the engine is described in these terms. In order to demonstrate that this multi-agent architecture allows an easy reconfigurability of the interactive system to accom modate the various adaptations defined in the framework, a case study of a second-hand car-selling system is detailed from a simple adaptation to progressively more complex ones.

eLearniXML: Towards a model-based approach for the development of e-Learning systems considering quality

With the evolution of technology, and especially of the Internet, a growing interest has appeared for on-line education. The many advantages of e-Learning have made this teaching philosophy an ideal partner for teachers, either as a complement to regular education or as a substitute for traditional education. The development of an e-Learning system poses extra challenges for software developers, since there are other facets, such as contents and user tracking, not usually considered in software development methodologies. In this paper eLearniXML approach to the development of e-Learning systems is presented. This approach enriches the development of e-Learning systems method proposed in ADDIE with the model-based development of user interfaces and software quality consideration. By doing so, we aim at the development of, what we have named, a Model-Based Instructional Development Environment (MB-ISDE), to include e-Learning development in the current trends of model-based software development.

Mockup-Driven Development: Providing agile support for Model-Driven Web Engineering

Context: Agile software development approaches are currently becoming the industry standard for Web Application development. On the other hand, Model-Driven Web Engineering (MDWE) methodologies are known to improve productivity when building this kind of applications. However, current MDWE methodologies tend to ignore important aspects of Web Applications development supported by agile processes, such as constant customer feedback or early design of user interfaces. Objective: In this paper we analyze the difficulties of supporting agile features in MDWE methodologies. Then, we propose an approach that eases the incorporation of well-known agile practices to MDWE. Method: We propose using User Interface prototypes (usually known as mockups) as a way to start the modeling process in the context of a mixed agile-MDWE process. To assist this process, we defined a lightweight metamodel that allows modeling features over mockups, interacting with end-users and generating MDWE models. Then, we conducted a statistical evaluation of both approaches (traditional vs. mockup-based modeling). Results: First we comment on how agile features can be added to MDWE processes using mockups. Then, we show by means of a quantitative study that the proposed approach is faster, less error-prone and still as complete as traditional MDWE processes. Conclusion: The use of mockups to guide the MDWE process helps in the reduction of the development cycle as well as in the incorporation of agile practices in the model-driven workflow. Complete MDWE models can be built and generated by using lightweight modeling over User Interface mockups, and this process suggests being more efficient, in terms of errors and effort, than traditional modeling in MDWE.

CSRML: a goal-oriented approach to model requirements for collaborative systems

A collaborative system is software which allows several users to work together and carry out collaboration, communication and coordination tasks. To perform these tasks, the users have to be aware of other users actions, usually by means of a set of awareness techniques. In previous works, we found by means of empirical studies that the most suitable Requirements Engineering approach to specify the requirements of this kind of systems is the Goal-Oriented one, and more precisely i* approach. In this paper, CSRML (Collaborative Systems Requirements Modelling Language) is presented, an extension of i* to deal with the specification of the requirements of these systems in which the collaboration and the awareness of other users presence / actions are crucial. In order to validate this proposal, a case study has been carried out by modelling a jigsaw activity: a cooperative-learning technique in which students individually do some research in a proposed problem and then they teach each other what they have learned by sharing each individual view of the problem.

Computer-aided relearning activity patterns for people with acquired brain injury

People with disabilities constitute a collective that requires continuous and customized attention, since their conditions or abilities are affected with respect to specific standards. People with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), or those who have suffered brain injury at some stage after birth, belong to this collective. The treatment these people require is mainly a continuous relearning process, as they must relearn to walk, read or even interact with their environment. This relearning is critical during the first two years after suffering brain damage. Thus, any assistance in the relearning process in the first two years is of paramount importance for their recovery. This paper describes the activities carried out in the course of developing a tool, HABITAT, to assist people with ABI. A description of the activity patterns that are used in the relearning process is provided. This paper also describes the experiment conducted in collaboration with ADACE (Association of Acquired Brain Injury of Castilla-La Mancha) to evaluate if the use of a computer-based treatment is accepted by people with ABI. This experiment was developed by recording several treatment sessions and passing out questionnaires. The analysis of the questionnaires reveals that computer-based treatment is especially accepted by younger people, increases the motivation of the patient, and reduces the activity completion time.

Adaptive interaction multi-agent systems in E-learning/E-teaching on the web

In this paper we propose to include two up-to-date separate concepts, namely social computing and usability metrics, in intelligent interaction agents to enhance a user-centred, adaptive human-computer interaction (HCI) on the Web. Social computing refers to the application of sociological understanding to the design of interactive systems. Usability metrics are software quality metrics with a long history of successful application in software engineering. We introduce preference metrics, which quantify the subjective evaluations and preferences of users, and performance metrics, which measure the actual use of working software, as suggested parameters that enable user interface adaptation. From all terms, a new user-centred and adaptive interaction multi-agent model and architecture is proposed in e-learning/e-teaching on the Web.

Designing user interface adaptation rules with T: XML

The specification of model adaptation and generation rules is a topic of great interest for the user interface development community, since there are more and more approaches supporting the model-based approach. The ubiquitousness in interaction and the different user profiles are not the only challenges when designing interactive systems. Furthermore, the context of use evolves over time. In this situation, there is a strong need to provide a set of adaptation rules to make the user interface evolve according to the context of use evolution. This paper contributes a metamodel for the definition of adaptation rules in a systematic approach, pursuing engineer adaptation. Moreover, a tool called T:XML is presented that supports the specification of adaptation rules using a visual notation that greatly simplifies the process of designing adaptation for model-based user interface environments.

Model-Based Design of Adaptive User Interfaces through Connectors

For a long time standard desktop applications have ruled the market. Nevertheless, the availability of information has made the user demand new interaction techniques in completely different contexts and devices, but requesting the same functionality. With this new situation application design should be able to adapt to these differences. To design these adaptive interfaces the specification of these user interfaces should support plasticity at runtime. In this paper a first approach is proposed to support these plasticity features from a formal point of view within a model-based user interface design methodology. Connector paradigm is used to coordinate the communication between Concrete Interaction Objects and Abstract Interaction Objects in a flexible way enough to support adaptivity.

Supporting ARINC 653-based Dynamic Reconfiguration

As the software for avionics becomes more complex, the challenge to provide the required reliability and safety mechanisms becomes also more complex. Embracing the ARINC 650 and 653 standards to provide a means to embark several systems into a single hardware cabinet opens the door to the development of even more elaborated software avionics systems, by overcoming the space constraints once found in this kind of system. Nevertheless, ARINC 653 exhibits also some limitations regarding fault redundancy management, especially when handling redundant applications with spares that back up other applications. In this paper, a framework to support fault tolerance and reconfiguration in avionics systems under the umbrella of ARINC 653 standard is described. This paper represents part of the results of the research projects carried out during the last two years by Eurocopter Espana in collaboration with the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Bridging the Gap: Developing 2D and 3D User Interfaces with the IDEAS Methodology

Most user interface development methodologies have been conceived based on experience from the development of traditional PC-based systems. However, computer and display technologies are changing. Sizes range from large surrounding displays to small mobile devices. Besides, 3D graphics is no longer limited to graphics workstations, as most PCs are shipped with specialized hardware, and 3D standards are being developed for mobile devices. User interface engineering should not be left out of this progress. With that concern in mind, the IDEAS methodology is presented, a novel environment which allows the development of both 2D and 3D user interfaces. A case of study is used to show the details of the proposed development process.