Kenia Soares Sousa

User interface derivation from business processes: a model-driven approach for organizational engineering

This paper defines a model-driven approach for organizational engineering in which user interfaces of information systems are derived from business processes. This approach consists of four steps: business process modeling in the context of organizational engineering, task model derivation from the business process model, task refinement, and user interface model derivation from the task model. Each step contributes to specify and refine mappings between the source and the target model. In this way, each model modification could be adequately propagated in the rest of the chain. By applying this model-driven approach, the user interfaces of the information systems are directly meeting the requirements of the business processes and are no longer decoupled from them. This approach has been validated on a case study in a large bank-insurance company.

Towards method engineering of model-driven user interface development

Model-driven user interface development environments and their associated methodologies have evolved over time to become more explicit, flexible, and reusable but they still lack to reach a level that allows tailoring a method to the reality of software development organizations and their projects. In order to address this shortcoming, method engineering provides strategies to define and tailor software engineering methods. They should address any usability concerns, which are primordial for the integration of model-driven user interface development methods in the competitive reality of software organizations. To address the issues of explicitly defining a flexible method, we defined a strategy based on method engineering for model-driven user interface development that uses usability goals as a starting point. With the application of this strategy, we aim to help method engineers executing the method with more efficiency when defining or tailoring methods and facilitate the application of model-based user interface development methods in software organizations.

Evaluating a graphical notation for modelling software development methodologies

This work aims at evaluating a graphical notation for modelling software (and other kinds of) development methodologies, thus demonstrating how useful the graphical aspects can be for sharing knowledge between the people responsible for documenting information and those responsible for understanding and putting it into practice. We acknowledge the importance of having a common set of symbols that can be used to create, use and disseminate information for a larger audience than is possible today with a variety of alternatives and lack of a common ground. Using a cognitive dimensions framework, we make a standard evaluation of the elements and diagrams of the notation proposed to support the ISO/IEC 24744 methodology metamodel standard, considering the trade-offs between different dimensions. We suggest improvements to this existing notation based on this analysis, in the context of improving communication between creators and users of methodologies.

Applying a multi-criteria approach for the selection of usability patterns in the development of DTV applications

In this paper we describe a multi-criteria approach in which the execution of its steps integrated to a Software Development Process (SDP) allow the generation of the User Interface (UI) Definition Plan, which is an artifact used for UI design of software. This approach applies techniques from Operational Research (OR), and from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), considering diverse criteria (functional and non functional requirements) that have an impact on the interaction design and using usability patterns, respectively. In this text, its main goal was to identify the order of attractiveness of a list of usability patterns for a certain interactive task of Digital TV (DTV) applications, thus allowing the selection of the most appropriate pattern in this new communication resource.

Getting users involved in aligning their needs with business processes models and systems

Purpose – This paper aims to present a case study of the application of a methodology that represents an innovative strategy that integrates researches on interaction design and business process management with practical implications. This methodology is devoted to aligning the needs of enterprise system users with business processes (BPs). Design/methodology/approach – This approach establishes an unbroken network of links between BPs, task models and abstract representations of user interfaces. Once the models are linked, it is possible to identify the impact that any change on these models may produce in other models. The main challenge is to organize the linked models according to the organizational context and manage those links with consistency in order to support improving process efficiency and user productivity. This approach has been applied in a large telecommunications organization during four months with its application in two different projects and validated with a cost-benefit analysis. Findings – Applying this approach in large organizations has demonstrated that: every involved stakeholder is capable of understanding the whole approach in one working day; creating the models and linking them with the corresponding business process models takes around three men/day per core business process; and applying this approach brings up to 60 per cent of return on investment related to process improvement and user experience. Originality/value – The main differentials of this methodology include using simple models; considering light actions; preserving the independence of technology; and adopting a human-oriented approach assuring that every managed information impacts people and not only systems, thus enabling fast adaptation to the business dynamism.

Model-driven approach for user interface: business alignment

Organizations that adopt Business Process (BP) modeling as a source to implement enterprise systems struggle to maintain such a link. However, not all types of organizations are structured for professionals to adequately manage processes and supporting systems. Even though there are techniques to align business processes and systems, there lacks a solution that addresses User Interfaces (UI). The negative impact of focusing only on functional aspects is that many changes on processes that affect UIs are not carefully considered. Therefore, our solution aims at aligning business processes with UIs by adopting a model-driven approach. Such support is targeted at large organizations to enable them to manage those links.

User Interface Development Life Cycle for Business-Driven Enterprise Applications

This work presents how business process models are described in terms of task models to solve traceability issues for large systems. The proposed approach presents a method with activities specifically selected for the scenario of develo-ping user interfaces (UIs) for enterprise applications founded on extensive business processes. Furthermore, some of these activities are detailed to make the work on UIs aligned with business processes. With the use of the tool proposed in this research, it is then possible to identify the UI components that are impacted whenever changes are made on business processes.

Addressing the impact of business process changes on software user interfaces

This paper defines an approach to maintain the work of business process analysis aligned with the work of UI designers. With this approach, models are derived from each other and aligned in order to more efficiently propagate changes when needed. In this way, each model modification could be adequately propagated in the rest of the chain. By applying this model-driven approach, the user interfaces of the information systems are abstracted from models and their interrelationships, thus directly meeting the requirements of the business processes. This approach has been validated on a case study in a large bank-insurance organization and with the implementation of a traceability tool.

Business Performer-Centered Design of User Interfaces

Business Performer-Centered Design of User Interfaces is a new design methodology that adopts business process (BP) definition and a business performer perspective for managing the life cycle of user interfaces of enterprise systems. In this methodology, when the organization has a business process culture, the business processes of an organization are firstly defined according to a traditional methodology for this kind of artifact. These business processes are then transformed into a series of task models that represent the interactive parts of the business processes that will ultimately lead to interactive systems. When the organization has its enterprise systems, but not yet its business processes modeled, the user interfaces of the systems help derive tasks models, which are then used to derive the business processes. The double linking between a business process and a task model, and between a task model and a user interface model makes it possible to ensure traceability of the artifacts in multiple paths and enables a more active participation of business performers in analyzing the resulting user interfaces. In this paper, we outline how a human-perspective is used tied to a model-driven perspective.

Integrating Usability, Semiotic, and Software Engineering into a Method for Evaluating User Interfaces

We present artifacts and techniques used for user interface (UI) design and evaluation, performed by professionals from the human-computer interaction (HCI) area of study, covering usability engineering and semiotic engineering, which can assist software engineering (SE) to perform usability tests starting earlier in the process. Tests of various interaction alternatives, produced from these artifacts, are useful to verify if these alternatives are in accordance with users’ preferences and constraints, and usability patterns, and can enhance the probability of achieving a more usable and reliable product. INtrODUctION In a software development process (SDP), it is crucial for developers, customers, and users to interact in order to specify, generate, and evaluate the software. From software specification to its delivery, various kinds of tests must be performed, involving aspects such as: functionality, portability, performance, and usability. This work focuses on the context of usability, communicability, and functionality tests (e.g., appropriateness of a chosen interface design alternative to user preferences, consistency to a visual pattern, efficient execution of interactive tasks on interface objects, etc.).