This paper describes a framework that serves as a reference for classifying user interfaces supporting multiple targets, or multiple contexts of use in the field of context-aware computing. In this framework, a context of use is decomposed in three facets: the end users of the interactive system, the hardware and software computing platform with which the user have to carry out their interactive tasks and the physical environment where they are working. Therefore, a context-sensitive user interface is a user interface that exhibits some capability to be aware of the context (context awareness) and to react to changes of this context. This paper attempts to provide a unified understanding of context-sensitive user interfaces rather than a prescription of various ways or methods of tackling different steps of development. Rather, the framework structures the development life cycle into four levels of abstraction: task and concepts, abstract user interface, concrete user interface and final user interface. These levels are structured with a relationship of reification going from an abstract level to a concrete one and a relationship of abstraction going from a concrete level to an abstract one. Most methods and tools can be more clearly understood and compared relative to each other against the levels of this framework. In addition, the framework expresses when, where and how a change of context is considered and supported in the context-sensitive user interface thanks to a relationship of translation. In the field of multi-target user interfaces is also introduced, defined, and exemplified the notion of plastic user interfaces. These user interfaces support some adaptation to changes of the context of use while preserving a predefined set of usability properties.
To cope with the ever increasing diversity of markup languages, programming languages, tool kits and interface development environments, conceptual modeling of user interfaces could bring a framework for specifying, designing, and developing user interfaces at a level of abstraction that is higher than the level where code is merely manipulated. For this purpose, a complete environment is presented based on conceptual modeling of user interfaces of information systems structured around three axes: the models that characterize a user interface from the end user's viewpoint and the specification language that allows designers to specify such interfaces, the method for developing interfaces in forward, reverse, and lateral engineering based on these models, and a suite of tools that support designers in applying the method based on the models. This environment is compatible with the Model-Driven Architecture recommendations in the sense that all models adhere to the principle of separation of concerns and are based on model transformation between the MDA levels. The models and the transformations of these models are all expressed in UsiXML (User Interface eXtensible Markup Language) and maintained in a model repository that can be accessed by the suite of tools. Thanks to this environment, it is possible to quickly develop and deploy a wide array of user interfaces for different computing platforms, for different interaction modalities, for different markup and programming languages, and for various contexts of use.
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.
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