Ongoing activities
Other activities involve the refinement of a dialog model for Web applications.
- RenderXML
RenderXML (former UsiXML4ALL) is a rendering tool that makes possible UI rendering in multiple platforms. More, RenderXML supplies as differential from other UI rendering tools the possibility of application logic connection in multiple programming languages. The main goals of RenderXML are to make possible CUI (Concrete User Interface) UsiXML descriptions rendering to multiple platforms, being able to be extended to new use contexts. RenderXML is developed in Java, and is currently capable of UI rendering in Java Swing for desktop and CDC (Connected Device Configuration) mobile applications. In addition, the project has the objective of allowing UI rendering to web and vocal applications. RenderXML is being developed as a master degree work, at UFRGS, in Brazil.
Publications:
Trindade, F.M., Pimenta, M.S., RenderXML – A Multi-platform Software Development Tool, Proc. of 6th Int. Workshop on TAsk MOdels and DIAgrams TAMODIA’2007 (Toulouse, 7-9 November 2007), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2007, pp. 292-297.
Trindade, F., Pimenta, M., Petrillo, F., Iochpe, C. Adaptando Sistemas Existentes para um Ambiente de Execução Multiplataforma, Proc. of Workshop on Perspectives, Challenges and Opportunities for Human-Computer Interaction in Latin America CLIHC'2007(Rio de Janeiro, September 10-11, 2007).
Trindade, F. M. , Pimenta, M.S., Prototyping Multi-platform Software Using the UsiXML4ALL Tool, research report, 2007.
Contact:Francisco Trindade,Marcelo Pimenta, Institute of Informatics,Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Trindade, F. M. , Moreira, A.A., Pimenta, M.S., UsiXML4ALL - Uma Ferramenta para Criação de Aplicativos Multiplataforma, UFRGS, Porto Allegre, 2007.
Trindade, F. Pimenta, M. UsiXML4ALL - A Multiplatform Software Development Tool, in DVD Proc. of 12th Int. Conf. on Human-Computer Interaction HCI International'2007 (Beijing, 22-27 July 2007).
- Usability Evaluation of UsiXML transformations
This is a joint initiative between the MAUSE (Towards the Maturation of Information Technology Usability Evaluation) project and the SIMILAR Network of Excellence. The aim is to assessing the level of usability covered by applying a set of UsiXML transformations to develop Multimodal Web Interfaces. Specifically, we are interested in answering the following questions: Are all usability criteria covered? What is the level of coverage by modality? What is the level of coverage by design option? What is the level of coverage by transformational level? Which criteria are preserved in all the transformation levels? Could we generalize this reasoning for a general Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) approach involving UI development? The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate whether MDA-compliant methods ensure a guaranteed level of usability through model transformations.
Contact: Silvia Abrahao, ISSI Research Group, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.
- Deriving User-Requirements from Human-Computer Interfaces
This work consists in editing a graphical user interface for an e-commerce application and progressively deriving requirements and information in order to generate the dialog and the database using this user interface. Also see the ReQuest project.
Publications:
Brogneaux, A.-F., Ramdoyal, R., Vilz, J., Hainaut, J.-L., Deriving User-Requirements from Human-Computer Interfaces, Proc. of the 23rd IASTED International Multi-Conference on Applied Informatics (Databases and Applications) DBA'2005 (Innsbruck, 14-16 February 2005), M.H. Hamza (Ed.), Acta Press, 2005, pp. 77-82. See abstract.
Vilz, J., Brogneaux, A.-F., Ramdoyal, R., Englebert, V., Hainaut, J.-L., Data Conceptualisation for Web-Based Data-Centred Application Design, Proc. of 18th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering CAiSE'2006 (Luxembourg, June 5-9, 2006), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 4001, 2006, pp. 205-219.
- UsiXML definition in WikiPedia
UsiXML has received an entry in the world's largest on-line encyclpedia, called WikiPedia. This entry waits for a more detailed definition. The official suffixes for UsiXML files have also been described on ConvertExtensions site: USI stands for a UsiXML file while USZ stands for a compressed UsiXML project containing UsiXML files.
- UsiXML for Ambient Intelligence
UsiXML is used to check the consistency across several user interfaces involved in Ambient Intelligence.
Publication: Trapp, M., Schmettow, M., Consistency in use through Model based User Interface Development, Proc. of the CHI'2006 Workshop on The Many Faces of Consistency in Cross Platform Design MAFOC'2006 (Montreal, 22-23 April 2006), Richter, K., Nichols, J., Gajos, K., Seffah, A. (eds.), CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol. 198, pp. 66-71.
- AB-UIDE
AB-UIDE (Agent-Based User Interface Development Enviroment) is an user interface development environment for the specification of adaptative user interfaces based on a model-based approach. The adaptation of the user interface is carried out by means of the transformation engine transformiXML, that allows for the transformation of an UsiXML specification into another.The adaptation of the user interface is supported by a multi-agent system able to decide which adaptation best fits each situation.
Contact: Victor Lopez-Jaquero, LoUISE Reseach Group, I3A, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
Publications:
Víctor López Jaquero, Vanderdonckt, J., Montero, F., González, P., Towards an Extended Model of User Interface Adaptation: the ISATINE framework, Proc. of Engineering Interactive Systems 2007 (IFIP WG2.7/13.4 10th Conference on Engineering Human Computer Interaction jointly organized with IFIP WG 13.2 1st Conference on Human Centred Software Engineering and DSVIS - 14th Conference on Design Specification and Verification of Interactive Systems) EIS’2007 (Salamanca, 22-24 March 2007), M.B. Harning, J. Gulliksen (eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2007.
Sendín, M., Collazos, C.A., Víctor López Jaquero, Framework de Plasticidad explícita: Un Marco Conceptual de Generación de IUs Plásticas para Entornos Colaborativos, Proc. of VII Congreso Internacional Interacción Persona-Ordenador Interaccion'2006 (Puertollano, 13-17 November 2006), M.A. Redondo Duque, C.B. Santos, M.O. Cantero (eds.), Asociación Interacción Persona-Ordenador (AIPO), 2006, pp. 427-438.. The slides are also available:
- BrickXML
BrickXML is an XML standard to be used with UsiXML. Its purpose is to define a language and a set of tools for tangible user interface prototyping using easily accessible building blocks such as LEGO. The goal would be to take an interaction description in the UsiXML format, and build a translation tool that will translate the interaction specification in UsiXML to a tangible user interface description in BrickXML. Next, another tool would be used to translate this description to a building plan for the tangible user interface, which is very similar to standard LEGO building plans supplied with LEGO kits.
Contact: Bert Schiettecatte, PERCUSSA-Creative Technology Providers.
- CanonSketch
CanonSketch is a tool for designing user interfaces at multiple levels of abstraction. It supports Constantine's Canonical Abstract Prototype notation as well as UML-based Wisdom notation (Nunes, 2000). We are working on exporting the abstract UI specifications in UsiXML along with the domain model, in order to take advantage of existing UsiXML tools to reify the specifications for different computing platforms, thus achieving a much more flexible environment.
Contact: Pedro F. Campos, Nuno J. Nunes, University of Madeira, Portugal.
- IKnowU
IKnowU is a UI generation framework that supports a unified process for interactive system design. This framework facilitates the definition, instantiation, and application of conceptual models (which are: task, domain, AUI, CUI, context, transformation and mapping models) following the Siam specification. IKnowU is supported by KnowiXML, a Knowledge-Based System that generates AUIs based on the instantiated conceptual models through the execution of a problem-solving method, called propose-and-revise.
Contact: Kênia Sousa, Hildeberto Mendonca, and Elizabeth Furtado from Universidade de Fortaleza, Brazil.
- LearniXML
The main purpose of the LearniXML project is to produce a software environment aimed at the specification, design, and deployment of interactive eLearning courses. It should allow teachers to easily build courses using an editing tool which offer to its author different educational and didactic options. Taking into account the various options and contents brought by the teacher, a given course generator should be able to generate the course interface for a specific Learning Management System (LMS).
A large part of the LearniXML project will consist in expand ing USIXML with a more specific and structured description of educational domain, learner and learning task. In this way, user interface concepts involved in the UsiXML language will be tightly coupled to concepts belonging to the educational world.
Contact: Etienne Vandeput, CeFIS, FUNDP, Belgium.
- VEGGIE
VEGGIE (Virtual reality Evaluator providing Guidance based on Guidelines for Interacting with End-users). Today, many resources exist as 3-dimensional virtual reality scenes or worlds for informational, public, pedagogical, and rehabilitation purposes. Until now, these worlds have been relatively unusable for unimpaired people and largely inaccessible to people having disabilities. This should change. We will use the set of GUIs from UsiXML, taking advantage of its specification, to developed a transformation to the Virtual context, for instance, change a button to a virtual button and so far.
Contact: Juan Manuel Gonzalez Calleros, Ph.D. researcher at BCHI, Unit of Information Systems, School of Management, University of Louvain, Belgium.
