Model-based Interface Development Research Articles

Usability-Driven Mobile Application Development

Recently, a specific interest is being taken in the development of mobile application (app) via Model-Based User Interface Development (MBUID) approach. MBUID allows the generation of mobile apps in the target platform(s) from conceptual models. As such it simplified the development process of mobile app. However, the interest is only focused on the functional aspects of the mobile app while neglecting the non-functional aspects, such as usability. The latter is largely considered as the main factor leading to the success or failure of any software system. This paper aims at addressing non-functional aspects of mobile apps generated using MBUID approach. As such, we propose a usability-driven approach for the development of mobile apps. The main stages of the proposed approach are defined in a generic way so that they can be integrated with any MBUID method. A case study is presented, in the paper, with the aim of illustrating the feasibility of this approach.

An Automated Model-Based Approach for Developing Mobile User Interfaces

The ever-increasing number of mobile platforms constitutes a challenge for application developers, who must develop efficient mobile applications for multiple platforms. Recently, a specific interest is being taken in the Model Based User Interface Development (MBUID) by Software Engineering Community. In such paradigm, an application's user interface is obtained by defining models and transformations of those models. This paper aim at adopting MBUID paradigm to address the problem of mobile application development. As such, we propose a new approach and its support system for the automatic generation of mobile user interfaces. The approach and the system are based on a set of standards and relevant technologies such as EMF, GMF, ATL, and Xpand. A case study is presented, in the paper, with the aim of verifying the usefulness of this approach.

Situation Analytics and Model-based User Interface Development: A Synergetic Approach for Building Runtime-Adaptive Business Applications

Situation analytics can be used to recognize the changing behavior, emotional state, cognitive load and environmental context of a user during complex task processing. This article discusses the SitAdapt 2.0 architecture that combines a situation analytics platform with pattern- and model-based user interface construction tools in order to build runtime-adaptive interactive business applications with enhanced user experience and task-accomplishment characteristics. The article focuses on the software components and tools for observing and tracking the user, data types for modeling situations, recognizing situations, and modeling structural changes and actions for generating the dynamic adaptations. The situation recognition capabilities and adaptive functionality of the system are demonstrated for web-applications for long-distance travel booking and a beauty products web-portal.

Model Transformation of Declarative User Interface from Platform Specific Model to Platform Independent Model using Graphical Notation.

The approach of model-based user interface development (MBUID) paradigm is for building user interfaces using a set of models that take into account the various facets of a user interface at a semantic level. In this work model transformation of user interface has been explored from source model to target model using relational mapping and graphical notation. A framework based on mathematical graphical notation is presented and relational mapping to re-engineer declarative user interface model transformation through a platform independent model (PIM) is presented. For re-engineering user interface three steps; namely source code to platform specific source model (Extraction), platform specific source model to platform specific target model (Transformation) and platform specific target model to platform specific target code (Development) are followed. For achieving independence with respect to platform and language, user interface elements are addressed at the semantic level. A layer of abstraction of PIM has been added for defining few common basic user interface elements along with their attributes in semantic terms using mathematical graphical notation. Transformation has been defined between the source and target model and generic rules are applied for every new element extracted from source model and placed in the target model. By adding a new layer in the re-engineering process efforts required to port the user interface from one platform specific source model to one or more platform specific model are reduced. By defining the user interface elements semantically in graphical notation, diversity in the programming languages has been reduced. Bi-directionality has been achieved between the source model and the target model by defining the relational mapping between the two.

Evaluating user interface generation approaches: model-based versus model-driven development

Advances in software design possibilities have led to a growing interest in the study of user interfaces (UIs). Many Model-Based User Interface Development Environments (MB-UIDEs) have been proposed to deal with the generation of the UIs (semi-) automatically by using models with different levels of abstraction. Often, this generation is limited to the UI part of an application. However, achieving true model-driven development (MDD) requires the co-development of application and UI and, hence, needs to go a step further. This paper analyzes a large set of existing MB-UIDEs, evaluates, from a critical perspective, to what extent they can be considered full MDD environments, and adequately addresses the co-design of UI and application. Following the guidelines proposed by Kitchenham and Charters (Engineering 2, 2007), we performed a systematic literature review. A total of 96 papers were examined. Based on these papers, an assessment framework containing 10 criteria with specific metrics to evaluate MB-UIDEs was defined and 30 different environments were evaluated following these criteria. The evaluation identifies several gaps in the existing state of the art and highlights the areas of promising improvement. The evaluation shows that, although a strong progress has being achieved over the last years, the existing environments do not yet fully exploit the benefits and potentialities of MDD, nor do they adequately integrate UI design with application logic design and generation. Further research needs to be done to support the MDD of UIs and the co-design of the underlying application. The difficulty of use of the existing MB-UIDEs, the lack of UI design flexibility, and the lack of complete and integrated development support are the main research gaps that need to be addressed.

Reusing UI elements with Model-Based User Interface Development

This paper introduces the potential for reusing UI elements in the context of Model-Based UI Development (MBUID) and provides guidance for future MBUID systems with enhanced reutilization capabilities. Our study is based upon the development of six inter-related projects with a specific MBUID environment which supports standard techniques for reuse such as parametrization and sub-specification, inclusion or shared repositories. We analyze our experience and discuss the benefits and limitations of each technique supported by our MBUID environment. The system architecture, the structure and composition of UI elements and the models specification languages have a decisive impact on reusability. In our case, more than 40% of the elements defined in the UI specifications were reused, resulting in a reduction of 55% of the specification size. Inclusion, parametrization and sub-specification have facilitated modularity and internal reuse of UI specifications at development time, whereas the reuse of UI elements between applications has greatly benefited from sharing repositories of UI elements at run time.

Platform Constraints Supporting an Ambiguous Mapping Model

Model transformations constitute the linking element between the different layers of abstraction in Model-Based User Interface Development (MBUID). They map source elements onto target elements and define rules for the execution of these mappings. While the execution of the transformation requires unambiguous mappings, ambiguous mappings are very common in MBUID (e.g. an abstract “selection” element could be mapped either to a drop-down list or to a set of radio buttons). These ambiguities have to be resolved during the design process considering the target platform characteristics among others. The definition and evaluation of such constraints is usually performed informally by the designer when selecting the unambiguous mappings. The target platform properties are thus only integrated implicitly into the transformation, i.e. the transformation has to be reprogrammed for every change of the platform characteristics. This paper therefore presents a proposal for a conditional ambiguous mapping model that allows the explicit definition of platform constraints based on platform models. Furthermore, all possible (ambiguous) mappings for a pair of source and target user interface description languages can be described so that the platform constraints can be attached to them. This allows the automatic selection of (unambiguous) mappings suitable for the target platform during the execution of the transformation. Consequently, a single transformation can support a variety of platforms. A case study shows the applicability of the approach.

CIAT-GUI: A MDE-compliant environment for developing Graphical User Interfaces of information systems

The development and specification of interactive systems is a complex process. The use of notations, methods and their respective technological support is necessary for obtaining user interfaces in a purely engineering manner and not in a manner of craftsmanship, as has been the case thus far. In the field of Software Engineering, an interest is currently being taken in the Model-Driven Development (MDD) paradigm. MDD permits simplification and automation in the process of software development by defining models and transformations of those models. This paradigm can be successfully applied to the problem of obtaining Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) from declarative models (Model-Based User Interface Development; MBUID). With the aim of solving the issue of obtaining a GUI by following a model-driven process, we propose a method, and a tool that implements that method called CIAT-GUI. In developing this tool we have made use of relevant technologies in the field of MDD such as EMF, GMF, ATL and MofScript. This proposed method, in contrast to other proposals existing in the literature, allows the visualization and modification of intermediate prototypes of the GUI and permits an executable GUI (in XAML language) to be obtained. Finally, an initial study was conducted with the aim of verifying the suitability of this approach and of the implemented tool, as well as assessing the perception of software engineers regarding its usefulness.

Past, Present, and Future of Model-Based User Interface Development

Abstract This article presents the past, present and future of model-based user interface development. After 30 years of research there has been significant success in modeling user interfaces. This article aims to give a comprehensive overview of the history, describes important aspects and current approaches, lists actual challenges of model-based user interface development and gives implications for the next generation.

Using HCI Patterns within the Model-Based Development of Run-Time Adaptive User Interfaces

Ubiquitous information access within intelligent environments – like the SmartFactoryKL – will become more and more important in everyday life. Model-based User Interface Development (MBUID) processes can help to handle the complexity emerging from the numerous interaction devices and usage scenarios, facilitating run-time adaption of the user interface to the users’ needs and preferences. To improve the usability of the user interfaces the designers’ knowledge has to be formalized and integrated into the generation process. HCI patterns are a promising approach for representing solutions for reoccurring design problems in an abstract, machine processable format which can be used to improve the model-based development of user interfaces, while still having a lack of formalization, organization and tool support. In our presented approach, we show the feasibility of the integration of HCI patterns (layout as well as task patterns) within an established automatic user interface generation process, which thereby supports the separation between content and visualization (separation of concern) within MBUID.

XMobile: A MB-UID environment for semi-automatic generation of adaptive applications for mobile devices

Ubiquitous Computing promises seamless access to information anytime, anywhere with different and heterogeneous devices. This kind of environment imposes new challenges to software development. For example, information and user interface should be adapted according to contextual characteristics such as user, environment, and access device. In case of device adaptation, the development challenge is related to the heterogeneity of the devices, which requires software engineers to create different versions for each type of device and every platform. This paper proposes a MB-UID (model-based user interface development) approach for semi-automatic generation of adaptive applications for mobile devices. An environment, called XMobile, offers a device-independent user interface framework and a code generation tool for providing fast development of multi-platform and adaptive applications according to device and platform features. A case study is also presented to illustrate how the environment can be used for constructing an application for heterogeneous devices with different network connectivity modes.

Designing distributed user interfaces for ambient intelligent environments using models and simulations

There is a growing demand for design support to create interactive systems that are deployed in ambient intelligent environments. Unlike traditional interactive systems, the wide diversity of situations these type of user interfaces need to work in require tool support that is close to the environment of the end-user on the one hand and provide a smooth integration with the application logic on the other hand. This paper shows how the model-based user interface development methodology can be applied for ambient intelligent environments; we propose a task-centered approach towards the design of interactive systems by means of appropriate visualizations and simulations of different models. Besides the use of these typical user interface models such as the task- and presentation-model to support interface design, we focus on user interfaces supporting situated task distributions and a visualization of context influences on deployed, possibly distributed, user interfaces. To enable this we introduce an environment model describing the device configuration at particular moment in time. To support the user interface designer while creating these complex interfaces for ambient intelligent environments, we discuss tool support using a visualization of the environment together with simulations of the user interface configurations. We also show how the concepts presented in the paper can be integrated within model-driven engineering, hereby narrowing the gap between HCI design and software engineering.

Teallach — a flexible user-interface development environment for object database applications

The Teallach project has adapted model-based user-interface development techniques to the systematic creation of user-interfaces for object-oriented database applications. Model-based approaches aim to provide designers with a more principled approach to user-interface development using a variety of underlying models, and tools which manipulate these models. Here we present the results of the Teallach project, describing the tools developed and the flexible design method supported. Distinctive features of the Teallach system include provision of database-specific constructs, comprehensive facilities for relating the different models, and support for a flexible design method in which models can be constructed and related by designers in different orders and in different ways, to suit their particular design rationales. The system then creates the desired user-interface as an independent, fully functional Java application, with automatically generated help facilities.

Teallach: a model-based user interface development environment for object databases

Model-based user interface development environments show promise for improving the productivity of user interface developers, and possibly for improving the quality of developed interfaces. While model-based techniques have previously been applied to the area of database interfaces, they have not been specifically targeted at the important area of object database applications. Such applications make use of models that are semantically richer than their relational counterparts in terms of both data structures and application functionality. In general, model-based techniques have not addressed how the information referenced in such applications is manifested within the described models, and is utilised within the generated interface itself. This lack of experience with such systems has led to many model-based projects providing minimal support for certain features that are essential to such data intensive applications, and has prevented object database interface developers in particular from benefiting from model-based techniques. This paper presents the Teallach model-based user interface development environment for object databases, describing the models it supports, the relationships between these models, the tool used to construct interfaces using the models and the generation of Java programs from the declarative models. Distinctive features of Teallach include comprehensive facilities for linking models, a flexible development method, an open architecture, and the generation of running applications based on the models constructed by designers.

Encapsulating intelligent interactive behaviour in unified user interface artefacts

Intelligence at the level of the user interface is currently being supported through a number of prevalent strands, including adaptive user interfaces, model-based user interface development and interface agents. Moreover, the term intelligent user interface typically implies the notion of dynamically enhancing the interaction with a single implemented artefact to suit different usage patterns, user groups, or contexts of use. This article extends this notion and describes how unified design artefacts can support the development of accessible and high quality user interfaces exhibiting the characteristics of multiple metaphor environments. To this effect, the article outlines the principles of unified user interface development and discusses how it can be used to advance Intelligent Interface Technology to account for diverse user requirements and interaction contexts.

Towards a general computational framework for model-based interface development systems

Abstract Model-based interface development systems have not been able to progress beyond producing narrowly focused interface designs of restricted applicability. We identify a level-of-abstraction mismatch in interface models, which we call the mapping problem, as the cause of the limitations in the usefulness of model-based systems. We propose a general computational framework for solving the mapping problem in model-based systems. We show an implementation of the framework within the MOBI-D (Model-Based Interface Designer) interface development environment. The MOBI-D approach to solving the mapping problem enables for the first time with model-based technology the design of a wide variety of types of user interfaces.

A model-based interface development environment

The author describes Mobi-D (Model-Based Interface Designer), a comprehensive environment that supports user-centered design through model-based interface development. In the Mobi-D paradigm, a series of declarative models, such as user-task, dialog, and presentation, are interrelated to provide a formal representation of an interface design. This contrasts to model-based systems, which use only one or two models in isolation and have no explicit notion as to how the various model elements are organized into an interface design.