Michael J Rees

Evolving the browser towards a standard user interface architecture

If current trends continue, it is likely that the web browser will become the only widely used user interface. Web applications will become the predominant software. Should this happen, user interface design, implementation and evaluation skills can become more focussed and effective. Some of the benefits current browser user interfaces provide are discussed in the context of web application tools produced by the author and supported by examples. The software architecture of the Web brings special HCI demands, and the user design experts of the future will require training in this architecture. This evolution is scrutinised in terms of the new web services that will become available. Recent trends in this direction are presented, and future trends explored, with supporting evidence taken from a range of applications. The influence of the Web, with now a long history of user experience, can bring benefits to user interface design in the future.

A feasible user story tool for agile software development

User stories form the heart of the Extreme Programming methodology planning game. In its turn, Extreme Programming is one of the supporting pillars of the wider agile software development process. The user stories form a set of central work products that determine the software development processes. In the spirit of Extreme Programming the production of user stories is kept as simple as possible. Traditionally, user stories are hand written on index cards as they are easy to store, display, rearrange and distribute to the co-located development team. However, virtually all other work products of an application development team are in electronic format, and agile software development is increasingly being adopted by teams working from remote locations. In these circumstances distributed development teams look to software solutions for creating and using user stories. This paper surveys some of the tools that are being used and examines their suitability for the task using a set of requirements. As a result of this investigation the author has produced a prototype user story software tool for Agile Software Development called DotStories. The paper concludes by discussing the features of DotStories and its how closely it can approach the ideal user story software tool. Indeed, the proposition that software tools can ever improve on index cards is considered in the light of experience to date.

The universal user interface: the web browser as top candidate?

The talk will contend that the only graphical user interface that HCI practitioners need work with is the web browser. If this is the case, then user interface design, implementation and evaluation skills can become more focussed and effective. Some of the benefits this will bring will be shown, supported by examples. The HCI experts of the future will require training in the software architecture of the Web. The Web software architecture will require changes of a radical kind, and this evolution will be discussed in terms of the new web services that must become available. Recent trends in this direction will be presented, and future trends explored, with supporting evidence taken from a range of applications. The influence of the Web, with now a long history of user experience, can bring the HCI discipline to richer and more visible heights.