Reference Library Analysis Modeling for WebApps
	This page provides access to a variety of downloadable papers that address analysis modeling for Web Applications (WebApps) issues. The following topics are considered: Navigation Prototyping RE-specification Navigation Adaptive Web Navigation for Wireless Devices [PDF] Corin R. Anderson, Pedro Domingos and Daniel S. Weld Visitors who browse the Web from wireless PDAs, cell phones, and pagers are frequently stymied by Web interfaces optimized for desktop PCs. Simply replacing graphics with text and reformatting tables does not solve the problem, because deep link structures can still require minutes to traverse. This paper develops an algorithm, MINPATH that automatically improves wireless Web navigation by suggesting useful shortcut links in real time. MINPATH finds shortcuts by using a learned model of Web visitor behavior to estimate the savings of shortcut links, and suggests only the few best links. Analysing the Navigational Aspect [PDF] A.M. Reina and J. Torres Due to the internet and Web application boom, new methodologies try to address some new concerns which have appeared in this field and weren't in traditional methodologies. One of these concerns is navigation. At the same time, it has been proved that there are some concerns that aren't well treated with the traditional abstraction mechanisms (functions, objects). They scatter by all the code of the program. This paper tries to join both approaches, crossing the gap between the design level proposed in the methodologies and the implementation level, using for it the proposed ideas in the area of the advanced separation of concerns. Evaluation of a Natural Language Dialog Based Web Navigation System - A Case Study [PDF] Joyce Chai, Jimmy Lin, Wlodek Zadrozny, Yiming Ye, Margo Budzikowska, Veronika Horvath, Nanda Kambhatla and Catherine Wolf With the emergence of e-commerce, Websites must accommodate both customer needs and business requirements. Menu driven navigation and keyword search provided by most commercial sites have tremendous limitations. There is no way to balance the current needs and intentions of a user with the business requirements of the site. The solution lies, in the authors opinion, in centering electronic commerce Websites around natural language and multimodal dialog. This claim is supported by results of a recent study they performed, and which they present in this paper. Modeling Interactions and Navigation in Web Applications [PDF] Natacha Güell, Daniel Schwabe and Patricia Vilain This work presents a method that bridges the gap between requirements elicitation and conceptual, interaction and navigation design for Web applications. This method is based on user scenarios, use cases, and a new graphical notation, called User Interaction Diagrams. From these specifications, it is shown how to derive a conceptual model, and then how to derive the navigational structure of a Web application that supports the set of tasks identified in the scenarios. Revisitation Patterns in the World Wide Web Navigation [PDF] Linda Tauscher and Saul Greenberg This paper discusses revisitation patterns to Web pages. The authors analyzed usage data that they collected from users. They then compared different history mechanisms to suggest new approaches to managing history in browsers. Back to the top Prototyping A Framework for Rapid Mid-Fidelity Prototyping of Web Sites [PDF] Daniel Engelberg and Ahmed Seffah This paper presents a prototyping framework situated mid-way between low fidelity and high fidelity. The framework is used after requirements definition and early design but before development. The approach provides a solution to the classical trade-off between the ease of production associated with low-fidelity approaches and the realism associated with high-fidelity techniques. Within this framework, the authors present a generic mid-fidelity prototyping method supported by a tool, MS-PowerPoint, which they have found well adapted for mid-fidelity prototyping. Developing Web - Based Applications Through e-Prototyping [PDF] Wolf-Gideon Bleek, Martti Jeenicke and Ralf Klischewski "Traditional" prototyping is based on assumptions that are not - or only partially - valid for the development of Web-based applications. In this paper, the "traditional" approaches of prototyping are recalled, and the new conditions, difficulties and challenges of involving and communicating with the relevant actors as a way of gathering sound requirements in the context of Webprojects are examined. The paper presents a modified prototyping approach called e-prototyping. It includes frequent releases of software versions (based on short development cycles) as well as gathering feedback from users and other relevant actors in "productive mode". Framing Participatory Design Through e-Prototyping [PDF] Wolf-Gideon Bleek, Martti Jeenicke and Ralf Klischewski The paper discusses how a new way of prototyping can serve as a method to support a participatory and evolutionary design approach within Web projects. "e-prototyping" is meant to frame participation of Web users and other stakeholders in the design process through providing and maintaining a variety of communication channels for (user) feedback on frequently released software versions as well as establishing a steering board which takes into account the users voice in sorting out the feedback and setting priorities for the following design effort. From the software process perspective, e-prototyping supplies the development arena with the information needed (i.e. requirements), thus embedding the design activities in a loop of continuous communication and learning. Natural Prototyping: Participative and Interactive Web Design [PDF] Øystein Gutu and Gautam Ghosh Natural prototyping is a fast, visual, user intensive method to specify and design Web applications. It can help businesses to create Web-applications that deliverer benefits in a short amount of time. Revealing Web Use Requirements Through e-Prototyping [PDF] Wolf-Gideon Bleek, Martti Jeenicke and Ralf Klischewski Web Engineering projects face problems when it comes to reveal the Web users' requirements. This is due to the fact that users - the clients of a Web application - have difficulties to express their needs if there is no design artifact to communicate about. The paper presents a modified prototyping approach called e-Prototyping. It includes frequent releases of software versions (based on short development cycles) as well as gathering feedback from users and other relevant actors in "productive mode". The approach points at the need for offering various communication channels for the users and systematically sorting out the stream of feedback in order to enable the developers to reveal the user requirements. Back to the top RE-specification Modeling Customizable Web Applications - A Requirement's Perspective [PDF] Gerti Kappel, Werner Retschitzegger and Wieland Schwinger Existing modeling methods for Web applications, however, fall short on considering a major requirement posed on today's Web applications, namely customization. Web applications should be customizable with respect to various context factors comprising different user preferences, device capabilities and locations in mobile scenarios, to mention just a few. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, a framework of requirements, covering the design space of customizable Web applications is suggested. Second, on the basis of this framework, existing approaches for developing customizable Web applications are surveyed and general shortcomings are identified pointing the way to next-generation modeling methods. Specification of Application and Interface Objects for Reuse [PDF] P.S.C. Alencar, D.D Cowan, C.J.P. Lucena and L.C.M. Nova This paper shows how the description of application objects and interface objects can be formalized and applied to the specification of a highly interactive system. The authors have presented the Abstract Data View (ADV) model which is a design concept for the specification of interfaces. An ADV can be used to represent an interface between a user, a network or a device such as a timer and an Abstract Data Object (ADO), or as an interface between two or more ADOs, where an ADO is a specification for an object's public interface. Specification of Web Applications with ADM-2 [PDF] Paolo Atzeni and Alessio Parente In this presentation the authors will illustrate the features of an extension to the models and methods developed in the Araneus project aimed at describing Web applications in their entirety. In fact, the first generation of their project had considered "read-only" Web sites, but they will show how the approach can be made more general without having to rethink it from scratch. The focus is still on "data"-intensive applications, in the sense that data play a central role, and they closely correspond to pages in the site. Towards Modeling of DataWeb Applications - A Requirements' Perspective [PDF] Werner Retschitzegger and Wieland Schwinger From a software engineering point of view, the development of such so called DataWeb applications requires proper modeling methods in order to ensure architectural soundness and maintainability. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, a framework of requirements, covering the design space of DataWeb modeling methods in terms of three orthogonal dimensions is suggested. Second, on the basis of this framework, eight representative modeling methods for DataWeb applications are surveyed and general shortcomings are identified pointing the way to next generation modeling methods. UR-WSDM: Adding User Requirements Granularity to Model Web Based Information Systems [PDF] Wim Goedefroy, Robert Meersman and Olga De Troyer In this position paper the authors argue that the overall development of Web based information system can substantially benefit from adopting a user-centered design approach. Such an approach is characterized by an analysis phase identifying relevant user classes around which design and development are subsequently organized, as opposed to being driven by the site's only data. They suggest a further improvement on this design method by defining user classes through a finer level of granularity made out of user requirements. Why is RE for Web - Based Software Development Easier? [PDF] Didar Zowghi and Vincenzo Gervasi This paper identifies the fundamental differences between Web-based and conventional software engineering. The authors express their views about why they think requirements engineering for Web-based application development should be easier than requirements engineering for conventional software development. They will examine the consequences of holding such a position and propose a more effective process model for Web-based application development. Given that they hold such view, they believe that they can do a better job of requirements engineering than is currently being practiced in Web-based application development. They conclude by showing why they believe this is a promising area for investing research efforts. Back to the top