Self-Elicitation of Requirements with Automated GUI Prototyping

Rapid GUI prototyping has evolved into a widely applied technique in early stages of software development to facilitate the clarification and refinement of requirements. Especially high-fidelity GUI prototyping has shown to enable productive discussions with customers and mitigate potential misunderstandings, however, the benefits of applying high-fidelity GUI prototypes are accompanied by the disadvantage of being expensive and time-consuming in development and requiring experience to create. In this work, we show RaWi, a data-driven GUI prototyping approach that effectively retrieves GUIs for reuse from a large-scale semi-automatically created GUI repository for mobile apps on the basis of Natural Language (NL) searches to facilitate GUI prototyping and improve its productivity by leveraging the vast GUI prototyping knowledge embodied in the repository. Retrieved GUIs can directly be reused and adapted in the graphical editor of RaWi. Moreover, we present a comprehensive evaluation methodology to enable (i) the systematic evaluation of NL-based GUI ranking methods through a novel high-quality gold standard and conduct an in-depth evaluation of traditional IR and state-of-the-art BERT-based models for GUI ranking, and (ii) the assessment of GUI prototyping productivity accompanied by an extensive user study in a practical GUI prototyping environment.

In this paper we present how to develop graphical user interfaces from two UML models: use case and activity diagrams. Our method obtains from them a UML class diagram for representing GUI components, and it is suitable for generating code fragments, which can be considered as GUI prototypes.

We introduce multiscale vector volumes , a compact vector representation for volumetric objects with complex internal structures spanning a wide range of scales. With our representation, an object is decomposed into components and each component is modeled as an SDF tree , a novel data structure that uses multiple signed distance functions (SDFs) to further decompose the volumetric component into regions. Multiple signed distance functions collectively can represent non-manifold surfaces and deliver a powerful vector representation for complex volumetric features. We use multiscale embedding to combine object components at different scales into one complex volumetric object. As a result, regions with dramatically different scales and complexities can co-exist in an object. To facilitate volumetric object authoring and editing, we have also developed a scripting language and a GUI prototype. With the help of a recursively defined spatial indexing structure, our vector representation supports fast random access, and arbitrary cross sections of complex volumetric objects can be visualized in real time.

Currently used electronic books (hereafter referred as “e-book”) do not reflect people’s memo-taking behavior patterns, as an intuitive Graphic User Interface (hereafter referred as “GUI”) is not used in e-books. A study was carried out to suggest a GUI prototype that applies users’ memo-taking behavior patterns to the memo function of iBooks to enable greater usability. The prototype herein suggested is a memo GUI prototype that can apply people’s real-life memo-taking behavior to the memo function based on the iBooks interface. For the next step, a usability test was conducted on the suggested prototype and the iBook’s memo interface through four environmental factors and eighteen evaluation factors. Five research subjects participated in the usability test on two types of interface, and a questionnaire was analyzed using a paired t-test (T-test). Analysis of the questionnaire showed that users were highly satisfied with the usability of the newly suggested prototype, compared to iBooks.

High-fidelity GUI prototyping provides a meaningful manner for illustrating the developers' understanding of the requirements formulated by the customer and can be used for productive discussions and clarification of requirements and expectations. However, high-fidelity prototypes are time-consuming and expensive to develop. Furthermore, the interpretation of requirements expressed in informal natural language is often error-prone due to ambiguities and misunderstandings. In this dissertation project, we will develop a methodology based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) for supporting GUI prototyping by automatically translating Natural Language Requirements (NLR) into a formal Domain-Specific Language (DSL) describing the GUI and its navigational schema. The generated DSL can be further translated into corresponding target platform prototypes and directly provided to the user for inspection. Most related systems stop after generating artifacts, however, we introduce an intelligent and automatic interaction mechanism that allows users to provide natural language feedback on generated prototypes in an iterative fashion, which accordingly will be translated into respective prototype changes.

Background: Integrating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is crucial for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to enhance customer relations and profitability. Many SMEs in Indonesia, including Go-Sumber Plastik, still need to fully utilize CRM systems, which are essential for managing customer data, improving satisfaction, and retaining customers. Objective: The purpose of this research is to analyze and design a web-based CRM system for Go-Sumber Plastik using the Iconix Process methodology to enhance user interaction and overall system effectiveness. Methods: The study employed the Iconix Process methodology, which includes a use case, robustness, sequence diagrams, a GUI prototype, and a test plan. The design was tested using Maze to measure user interaction efficiency and satisfaction. Results: The research revealed significant challenges in user understanding of the CRM system, particularly in managing activities and adding customer information. Tasks such as reporting and logging in had good user performance. The overall user interaction score was 81.1, indicating moderate effectiveness of the initial design. Conclusion: The results underscore the necessity for a more intuitive and streamlined CRM system interface for Go-Sumber Plastik. Implementing an effective CRM system can improve SMEs' competitiveness and profitability by systematically enhancing communication, managing customer data, and boosting business performance. Future research should focus on refining the user interface to reduce error rates and improve task completion efficiency. Enhanced visibility and user guidance are recommended to optimize system usability and customer satisfaction.

Figure 1: GUI prototype (1) and three views (2-4) of our assistant for GUI prototype designers integrated as a plug-in into a prototyping tool.Our assistant displays user stories (2) imported from collaboration tools (e.g., JIRA) for prototype designers to reference while working.It detects whether a user story is implemented (3, 4), identifies relevant GUI components (3), and generates GUI components for user stories (4). Figure uses Google Material 3 Design Kit [24] components under CC BY 4.0.

Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) stories have gained considerable attention in recent years as an effective way to specify and test user requirements in agile software development projects. External testing frameworks also allow developers to automate the execution of BDD stories and check whether a fully functional software system behaves as expected. However, other software artifacts may quite often lose synchronization with the stories, and many inconsistencies can arise with respect to requirements representation. This paper reports on preliminary empirical findings regarding the performance of two existing approaches in the literature intended to support consistency assurance between BDD stories and software artifacts. The first approach involves the parsing of BDD stories in order to identify conceptual elements to automatically generate consistent class diagrams, while the second approach seeks to identify interaction elements to automatically assess the consistency of task models and GUI prototypes. We report on the precision of these approaches when applied to a study with BDD stories previously written by Product Owners (POs). Based on the results, we also identify a set of challenges and opportunities for BDD stories in the consistency assurance of such artifacts.

We introduce multiscale vector volumes, a compact vector representation for volumetric objects with complex internal structures spanning a wide range of scales. With our representation, an object is decomposed into components and each component is modeled as an SDF tree, a novel data structure that uses multiple signed distance functions (SDFs) to further decompose the volumetric component into regions. Multiple signed distance functions collectively can represent non-manifold surfaces and deliver a powerful vector representation for complex volumetric features. We use multiscale embedding to combine object components at different scales into one complex volumetric object. As a result, regions with dramatically different scales and complexities can co-exist in an object. To facilitate volumetric object authoring and editing, we have also developed a scripting language and a GUI prototype. With the help of a recursively defined spatial indexing structure, our vector representation supports fast random access, and arbitrary cross sections of complex volumetric objects can be visualized in real time.

In this study, we experimentally evaluated two GUI prototypes (named split and integrated) for parametric CAD modeling. Participants in the study were asked to perform a number of 3D model comprehension tasks, using both interfaces. The tasks themselves were classified into three classes: parameterization, topological and geometrical tasks. We measured the task completion times, error rates, and user satisfaction for both interfaces. The experimental results showed that task completion times are significantly shorter when the split interface is being used, in all cases of interest: 1) tasks taken as a whole and 2) tasks viewed by task type. There was no significant difference in error rates between the two interfaces; however, error rate was significantly higher in the case of parameterization tasks (for both interfaces). User satisfaction was significantly higher for the split interface. The study gave us a better understanding of the human performance when perceiving and comprehending parametric CAD models, and offered insight into the usability aspects of the two studied interfaces; we also believe that the knowledge obtained could be of practical utility to implementers of parametric CAD modeling packages.

A work-in-progress domain-specific language and methodology for modeling complex control systems GUIs is presented. MDA techniques are applied for language design and verification, simulation and prototyping.

This paper presents a case study in the design of a mobile based community healthcare communication system within a larger health project named ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists). The paper outlines the process of conceptualizing and modelling a health system involving community healthcare workers in a rural setting in India. The aim of the designed system is to enhance the efficiency of the field level community health workers in carrying out their prescribed work. The methodology involved, the identification of needs and problems as well as the development of the mobile based approach is outlined in this paper. It includes the initial design of the system up to the GUI and final working prototype run on a mobile. System analysis and information design principles were incorporated during the development process. Results of a limited testing of the design are also reported in the paper. The study reported includes findings from 8 village community healthcare workers and 3 doctors using the developed application. The targeted users were asked to evaluate the designed interfaces and information architecture in terms of their learn ability, ease of use, efficiency and adaptability. It was found that using the application reduced the cognitive load of the healthcare workers and assisted them in their work. The community healthcare workers were able to engage better with the rural people using this application.

A work-in-progress domain-specific language and methodology for modeling complex control systems GUIs is presented. MDA techniques are applied for language design and verification, simulation and prototyping.

Adjusting the knowledge of characters and the reader is a critical task for an author in narrative creation. Throughout a narrative, both characters and the reader experience events according to their own timelines and perspectives. They interpret information accumulated through their experience and update knowledge to the narrative-world which the author constructed. In this paper, we present a Knowledge Distribution Model which supports an author in finely controlling the knowledge of characters and the reader. Within the model, the Knowledge Structure is constructed by connecting event, information, and knowledge. The Knowledge State is evaluated as the degree of belief under the knowledge structure. We adopted a probabilistic reasoning model to calculate the knowledge state. The change in knowledge state, defined as Knowledge Flow, is visually presented to the author. We designed a GUI prototype to implement the proposed modeling process, and demonstrated the knowledge flow with an actual cinematic narrative.Keywordsknowledge distributionknowledge structureknowledge flownarrative creationauthoring tool

Although many methods have been proposed, model-based development methods have only to some extent been adopted for UI design. In particular, they are not easy to combine with user-centered design methods. In this paper, we present a hybrid UI modeling and GUI prototyping tool, which is designed to fit better with IS development and UI design traditions. The tool includes a diagram editor for domain and UI models and an execution engine that integrates UI behavior, live UI components and sample data. Thus, both model-based user interface design and prototyping-based iterative design are supported