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    Software Tools: Human Computer Interaction

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    Wang
    This document discusses different methods for specifying user interfaces (UIs), including natural language, formal languages, grammars, menu trees, transition diagrams, and statecharts. It notes that while UI architects design interfaces similarly to building architects, the interface often needs to change during development. Standard interfaces have increased productivity but new devices require more flexible designs. Formal specifications allow aspects to be written down precisely but do not scale well to complex graphics apps. Menu trees and dialog boxes can be created and reviewed systematically but may not show all possible actions. Transition diagrams are commonly used but can become complex and do not evaluate usability. Statecharts extend transition diagrams to model concurrency but linking specifications to interfaces remains challenging.

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    Software Tools: Human Computer Interaction

    Uploaded by

    Wang
    405 views7 pages
    This document discusses different methods for specifying user interfaces (UIs), including natural language, formal languages, grammars, menu trees, transition diagrams, and statecharts. It notes that while UI architects design interfaces similarly to building architects, the interface often needs to change during development. Standard interfaces have increased productivity but new devices require more flexible designs. Formal specifications allow aspects to be written down precisely but do not scale well to complex graphics apps. Menu trees and dialog boxes can be created and reviewed systematically but may not show all possible actions. Transition diagrams are commonly used but can become complex and do not evaluate usability. Statecharts extend transition diagrams to model concurrency but linking specifications to interfaces remains challenging.

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    Human Computer Interaction

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    Software Tools

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    This document discusses different methods for specifying user interfaces (UIs), including natural language, formal languages, grammars, menu trees, transition diagrams, and statecharts. It notes that while UI architects design interfaces similarly to building architects, the interface often needs to change during development. Standard interfaces have increased productivity but new devices require more flexible designs. Formal specifications allow aspects to be written down precisely but do not scale well to complex graphics apps. Menu trees and dialog boxes can be created and reviewed systematically but may not show all possible actions. Transition diagrams are commonly used but can become complex and do not evaluate usability. Statecharts extend transition diagrams to model concurrency but linking specifications to interfaces remains challenging.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    405 views7 pages

    Software Tools: Human Computer Interaction

    Uploaded by

    Wang
    This document discusses different methods for specifying user interfaces (UIs), including natural language, formal languages, grammars, menu trees, transition diagrams, and statecharts. It notes that while UI architects design interfaces similarly to building architects, the interface often needs to change during development. Standard interfaces have increased productivity but new devices require more flexible designs. Formal specifications allow aspects to be written down precisely but do not scale well to complex graphics apps. Menu trees and dialog boxes can be created and reviewed systematically but may not show all possible actions. Transition diagrams are commonly used but can become complex and do not evaluate usability. Statecharts extend transition diagrams to model concurrency but linking specifications to interfaces remains challenging.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 7

    Software Tools

    Human Computer Interaction


    Introduction

    User-Interface Architects
    Similar to Building Architects
    UI Jobs (even domain specific!)
    Ideal: Complete design before starting to build
    Multiple designers AND engineers
    Sit down and think about what needs to be done
    Still design, even though it will change!
    Standard GUIs have enabled 50% to 500%
    productivity gains
    Desktop Computer is losing its prominence
    More mobile, more distributed
    Software must support greater plasticity (ex.
    resolution)
    Display size, telephone access, web access, languages
    Device-independent programming
    Specification Methods

    Goal: How do we specify the GUI


    Natural Language
    Pros: easy to understand,
    sketchpad, blackboard
    Cons: Lengthy, vague,
    ambiguous, difficult to prove
    Formal and Semiformal languages
    Grammars for command
    languages
    Backus-Naur Form BNF
    More difficult for GUIs usually
    describe sequence of actions
    Transition diagrams
    Menu-tree structures
    Statecharts
    Graphical specifications
    Grammars

    Specify Textual Commands or Expressions that a


    program would understand
    Still used in spreadsheet calculators
    Multiparty Grammars
    Non terminals that depict the actor (user/computer)
    for interactive programs
    Text-oriented sequences
    Voice Recognition Systems
    Pros:
    Aspects can be formally written down
    Verification of completeness and correctness
    Cons:
    Doesnt scale well
    Graphics apps still difficult to do
    Menu-Selection and Dialog-box

    Menu-Selection Tree
    Create menus graphically
    Tools exist for:
    Creation
    Design
    Pros:
    Review
    Consistency
    Totality
    Completeness
    Redundancy (examples?)
    Cons:
    Menu trees often do not show all possible actions
    (incomplete)
    Sometimes menus are not a tree
    Same thing for dialog-box trees
    Transition Diagram
    Most commonly used
    Set of nodes and links
    Many ways to display
    Text
    Link Frequency
    State Diagram
    Tools to create them (IBM Rational Suite)
    Also doesnt scale well (spaghetti displays)
    Replace nodes with screenprints
    Pros:
    Similar to Finite-State-Automata (plenty of
    research in CS on that)
    Can we reach every state?
    Is there a way out?
    Cons: Difficulty in evaluating
    Usability
    Visibility
    Modularity
    Synchronization
    Statecharts

    Uses nested roundtangles


    Extensions have been
    developed for
    Concurrency
    External events
    User Actions
    Example: Ilogixs Statemate
    Unified Modeling Language
    (UML)
    Standard for visualizing and
    documenting software systems
    Goal: link specification with
    interface-building tools
    Why is this difficult?
    conformity, flexbility

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