INTERACT 2003 - Bringing the Bits together
Tutorial 1
#1 - Methods and Tools for Design of Multi-Platform Applications and Remote Usability Evaluation
Fabio PaternòISTI-CNR, Via G.Moruzzi 1, Pisa, Italy
fabio.paterno@cnuce.cnr.it
Achieving the goal of universal usability poses a number of difficult issues. This tutorial will address some of them. It is to be held as a half-day tutorial and is designed as a stand-alone event for anybody who wants to learn about tools and methods for the design of multi-platform applications and remote evaluation of user interfaces. It will be given in English.
The main learning objective is to disseminate results in research on methods and tools for multi-platform user interface design and remote evaluation. To this end, we plan to show how automatic tools, models and related methods can support the design and development of interactive applications that can be accessed through various platforms (PDAs, Mobile phones, Desktop systems, ...) and their remote evaluation (when users and evaluators are separated in time and/or space).
One key aspect of the tutorial will be to enable attendees to directly practise the use of the above mentioned methods and tools through some interactive exercises in order to provide hands-on experience with the state of the art.
The tutorial will start with a description of the structure and objectives of the tutorial itself and an introduction to the models that are relevant in the design of multi-platform applications and remote evaluation. We will devote particular attention to task models, how to represent them and analyse their content and their combined use with informal descriptions, such as scenarios.
Next, we will move on to discuss how the information contained in the models described can be used to support the design of user interfaces of multi-platform applications that allow users to access data through various types of devices, including mobile ones. Criteria for selecting the most suitable interaction and presentation techniques will be introduced. We will also discuss the use of XML-based representations in order to represent the relevant modelling concepts and manipulate them.
Another issue that will be considered is how to support remote evaluation, in particular by leveraging the information containedin task models. For example, we will discuss Web usability analysis with tool support by considering user interaction logs and the task model of the application.
The state of art in the area of multi-platform application design and remote evaluation will be reviewed in order to provide a broad view of the issues considered, as well as the current trends and problems. We will also discuss a research agenda in the field and leave some time at the end for open discussion with participants.
The issues considered in the tutorial have been discussed widely, though mainly in a research context. Now they appear mature for broader dissemination. Indeed, the first tools for the design of multi-platform applications are starting to be made available, and there is a need for disseminating their potentials , features and advantages.
This is an area that can be interesting for interactive software developers and designers who want more support than that currently furnished by most current visual editors and toolkits. Likewise, user interface designers could benefit in that they could perform their work more effectively, making their design choices more explicit. In addition, other researchers who would like to have an update on the state of art in the field can be interested in the tutorial.
Tutorial participants will not need to have any specific background knowledge to reap benefits. However, general familiarity with some HCI design principles or with some user interface development tool would be helpful.