Reference Library Component-Based Development
	This page provides access to a variety of downloadable papers that address design modeling for Web applications. The following topics are considered: Architecture Content General Interface Methods Object-Oriented Hypermedia Design Method (OOHDM) Navigation Design Patterns User Interface Design Architecture A Flexible Architecture for Content and Concept Based Multimedia Information Exploration [PDF] Mark Dobie, Robert Tansley, Dan Joyce, Mark Weal, Paul Lewis and Wendy Hall Traditional hypermedia systems can be extended to allow content based matching to give more flexibility for user navigation, but this approach is still limited by the capabilities of multimedia matching technology. The addition of a multimedia thesaurus can overcome some of these limitations by allowing multimedia representations of concepts to act like synonyms in the query process. The use of agents that independently examine the information in the system can also provide alternative methods for query evaluation. This paper presents a flexible architecture that supports such a system and describes initial work on implementation. Architectures for Web Based Applications [PDF] Weiquan Zhao, David Kearney and Gianpaolo Gioiosa Unfortunately, the limitations of the existing Web infrastructure mean that purely event-based user interaction is unsuitable within Web applications. Nevertheless, the authors believe that integrating event-based user interaction in certain parts of a large Web application will have positive effects if a suitable architecture is used. In this paper, they explore an architecture that accommodates a partial integration of an event-driven user interface and hides some of the ad hoc Web infrastructure. They also suggest ways in which event based interaction can be incorporated within a Web application framework such as J2EE. Architecture Recovery of Web Applications [PDF] Ahmed E. Hassan In the last decade, much of the reverse engineering research has concentrated on the development of tools that support traditional software development environments and languages such as COBOL, PL/I, Pascal, C, Java, and C++. This thesis extends this body of research into a new domain: Web applications. The author develops extractors that analyze the source code and binaries of Web applications. Then, the author performs algebraic manipulations on the extracted information to generate architecture diagrams that highlight the main components of a Web application and the interactions between them. Design and Implementation of Database Powered Web Systems - Experiences from the DEMETER Project [PDF] Karl M. Goeschka A novel design and implementation technique for Web-based distributed information systems is introduced. Using a state machine model, a database powered Web application prototype has been successfully implemented. It is a Europe-wide product marketing system for rural areas funded by the European Commission, and is currently in the pilot phase. These experiences have led us to the development of framework tools to close the semantic gap between distributed databases and the Web browser as standard user interface. The key idea is to create a design language to describe the user interface layout, the functionality and the database transactions in a homogenous way. Designing Well - Structured Websites: Lessons to be Learned from Database Schema Methodology [PDF] Olga De Troyer This paper argues that many of the problems one may experience while visiting Websites today may be avoided if their builders adopt a proper methodology for designing and implementing the site. More specifically, introducing a systematic conceptual design phase for Websites, similar in purpose and technique to the conceptual design phase in database systems, proves to be effective and efficient. However, certain differences such as adopting a user-centered view are essential for this. Existing database design techniques such as ER, ORM, OMT are found to be an adequate basis for this approach. We show how they can be extended to make them appropriate for Website design. Empirically Validated Web Page Design Metrics [PDF] Melody Y. Ivory, Rashmi R. Sinha and Marti A. Hearst This paper discusses a quantitative analysis of a large collection of expert-rated Web sites. The analysis concludes that page-level metrics can accurately predict if a site will be highly rated and also concludes that metrics differ among Web site categories. These conclusions can be a useful foundation for Web site guidelines. Object - Oriented Web Application Architectures and Development Strategies [PDF] *FEE* Eun Sook Cho, Soo Dong Kim, Sung Yul Rhew, Sang Duck Lee and Chang Gap Kim This paper discusses the limits and constraints in performance, functionality, usability and other areas, of current Web application architectures. This paper then proposes new architectures and development strategies of Web apps based on some newer technology, such as Java RMI, Web-ORB and Agents. Structures in the Web [PDF] Paolo Atzeni, Giansalvatore Mecca, Paolo Merialdo and Elena Tabet This paper discusses an investigation of data organization on the Web, specifically structured Web servers. A page oriented data model, the ARANEUS data model, is developed. The model will be used to describe the database scheme of a structured server. A view definition language, ARANEUS view language, is also developed which will build relational views of the Web and also derived Web structures from relational views. Structuring Web Sites Using Audience Class Hierarchies [PDF] Sven Casteleyn and Olga De Troyer WSDM is an audience driven design method for Web sites. By explicitly starting from the requirements of the Web sites audience (the users or visitors), WSDM avoids problems caused by poor underlying design, or by a too data or organization driven view. This paper presents how the main structure of a Web site can be derived from structuring the visitors of the Web site into one or more so-called Audience Class Hierarchies. Each Hierarchy represents a classification of the visitors according to one aspect. Towards a Better Understanding of Web Applications [PDF] Ahmed E. Hassan and Richard C. Holt This paper presents a framework to recover the architecture of Web applications. Developers can visualize and navigate the recovered architecture. Furthermore, they can analyze the architecture to gain a better understanding of their Web application. Web Site Optimization Using Page Popularity [PDF] *FEE* John Garofalakis, Panagiotis Kappos and Dimitris Mourloukos This article examines page popularity of a Web site to help determine how a Web site can be rearranged to become more accessible and efficient. Pilot software was developed and resulted in improvement in page accesses for five different Web sites. Web Structures: A Tool for Representing and Manipulating Programs [PDF] *FEE* Andrea Maggiolo-Schettini, Margherita Napoli and Genoveffa Tortora This paper discusses Web structures and their transformations as a tool for representing and manipulating programs. In this paper the theory is developed and a number of applications are shown. Back to the top Content Content or Graphics? An Empirical Analysis of Criteria for Award-Winning Websites [PDF] Rashmi Sinha, Marti Hearst, Melody Ivory and Maya Draisin This paper examined the Webby Awards 2000 dataset to understand which factors distinguish highly-rated Websites from those that receive poor ratings. For these awards, the Websites were categorized into 27 topical categories such as Science, Arts, Commerce, Living, and News, and expert judges were recruited for each of these topic areas. The Websites, numbering nearly 3000, were rated according to six criteria: content, structure & navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall experience. The authors found that, across the dataset, the content criterion was by far the best predictor of the overall experience criterion, while the visual design criterion was the worst predictor of the overall experience. N for the Price of 1: Bundling Web Objects for More Efficient Content Delivery [PDF] Craig E. Willis, Mikhail Mikhailov and Hao Shang This paper presents and discusses the idea of packaging sets of objects embedded on a Web page into a single bundle object to be sent to a client, which produces a response time as good as or better than the current mechanisms. This paper also shows how this approach can reduce the load on the network and servers. Predicting Web Actions from HTML Content [PDF] Brian D. Davidson This paper discusses the accuracy of predicting users actions based on an analysis of content from pages recently requested by the user. The authors used data from a full-content log of Web activity and found this technique outperforms simpler approaches. Preference - Based Configuration of Web Page Content [PDF] Carmel Domshlak, Ronen I. Brafman and Solomon E. Shimony This paper presents a new approach for personalized presentation of Web-page content. This approach is based on preference-based constrained optimization techniques rooted in qualitative decision theory. In this approach, Web-page personalization is viewed as a configuration problem whose goal is to determine the optimal presentation of a Webpage while taking into account the preferences of the Web author, layout constraints, and viewer interaction with the browser. This paper discusses the theoretical basis of this approach and its implementation within the CPML system. Retrieving and Organizing Web Pages by "Information Unit" [PDF] Wen-Syan Li, K. Selçuk Candan, Quoc Vu and Divyakant Agrawal This paper introduces and discusses an information unit which is a logical Web document that consists of multiple physical pages as one retrieval unit. The authors present an algorithm that retrieves these units. The authors then show how effective an information unit is with real Web data. Back to the top General A Schema - Based Approach to Web Engineering [PDF] Christoph Kuhnke, Josef Schneeberger and Andreas Turk This paper presents a twofold approach to Web engineering: the static part addresses all aspects that belong to the contents of pages, text and images, while the dynamic part deals with interaction with databases and other application systems. The focus will be on the static part, called document engineering. It involves the tasks of document design, authoring, and document production. This approach to Web engineering will suggest the reusable components content, structure, navigation, and layout. This paper presents SchemaText, an integrated software tool that provides a schema-based approach to Web engineering. SchemaText implements the basic ideas of our methodology. A Survey of Hypermedia Design Methods in the Context of World Wide Web Design [PDF] Phyo Kyaw and Cornelia Boldyreff This paper surveys and presents various hypermedia design methods and indicates how they can assist the designers for the development of Web applications. It also discusses how these design methods are derived from, and the way they are related to, conventional software engineering methods. Furthermore, it describes three methods in detail, namely, RMM, HDM and OOHDM. This paper also describes the implications of applying these design methods for the development of large and complex Web applications. A Survey of Multimedia and Web Development Techniques and Methodology Usage [PDF] *FEE* Chris Barry and Michael Lang The authors of this article have noticed that the methods for multimedia systems to be built aren't being practiced. In this article the authors want to know the current practice of multimedia and Web-based applications development. Two studies were made: one for the top 1,000 Irish companies in general industry, and one for the principle 100 Irish companies in the multimedia industry. Conceptual Modelling and Web Site Generation using Graph Technology [PDF] Torsten Gipp and Jürgen Ebert Starting with a conceptual model when designing a Web site is the state of the art. Applying the extended entity relationship driven EER/GRAL-approach to specifying graph classes, we show that graph technology can be utilized to ensure a coherent and consistent usage of a conceptual model and its instances for defining and generating an arbitrary complex Web site. During this process, graphs are used as repository structures in conformance with the conceptual model, allowing for descriptive graph queries to define the contents of the Web pages. DENIM: Finding a Tighter Fit Between Tools and Practice for Web Site Design [PDF] James Lin, Mark W. Newman, Jason I. Hong and James A. Landay Through a study of Web site design practice, the authors observed that Web site designers design sites at different levels of refinement-site map, storyboard, and individual page-and that designers sketch at all levels during the early stages of design. However, existing Web design tools do not support these tasks very well. Informed by these observations, they created DENIM, a system that helps Web site designers in the early stages of design. DENIM supports sketching input, allows design at different refinement levels, and unifies the levels through zooming. New Laws and Technologies Morph Web Page Best Practices [PDF] *FEE* Jim Isaak US organizations providing services using the Web are obligated to make the information accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This article discusses the guidelines the World Wide Web Consortium has developed to make Web sites accessible. Supporting Compositional Reuse in Component - Based Web Engineering [PDF] Martin Gaedke and Joern Rehse The application of Software Engineering practice to development for the Web, which is also referred to as Web Engineering, and especially the systematic reuse of components for Web-application development at low-costs is a main goal to achieve. This paper explains how the object-oriented and component-based WebComposition Markup Language (WCML) addresses these problems. A systematic approach to code reuse is presented with the WebComposition Repository, which is an essential tool for retrieval and classification of large component sets. The (Short) ARANEUS Guide to Web - Site Development [PDF] Giansalvatore Mecca, Paolo Merialdo, Paolo Atzeni and Valter Crescenzi This paper reports the authors recent advancements of their research on designing and developing Web applications carried on in the framework of the ARANEUS project. In particular they concentrate on two issues: the impact of a model-based approach on the site design and development process, and the need to evolve from static catalogue sites to full-fledge dynamic WBIS. Towards Second and Third Generation Web - Based Multimedia [PDF] Jacco van Ossenbruggen, Joost Geurts , Frank Cornelissen, Lynda Hardman and Lloyd Rutledge Text-based content may be approaching third generation Web content but multimedia content isn't fully at second generation yet. This paper discusses the requirements for second generation processing of multimedia and introduces Cuypers, a prototype multimedia documents transformation environment in which the processing requirements have been incorporated into. Web Application Models are More than Conceptual Models [PDF] Gustavo Rossi, Daniel Schwabe and Fernando Lyardet In this paper, the authors argue that Web applications are a particular kind of hypermedia applications and show how to model their navigational structure. They motivate their paper discussing the most important problems in the design of complex Web applications. They argue that if they need to design applications combining hypermedia navigation with complex transactional behaviors (as in E-commerce systems), they need a systematic development approach. Web Design Frameworks: An Approach to Improve Reuse in Web Applications [PDF] Daniel Schwabe, Gustavo Rossi, Luiselena Esmeraldo and Fernando Lyardet This paper introduces Web design frameworks as a conceptual approach to maximize reuse in Web applications. The authors first discuss the need for building abstract and reusable navigational design structures, exemplifying with different kinds of Web Information Systems. Then, they briefly review the state of the art of object- oriented application frameworks and present the rationale for a slightly different approach focusing on design reuse instead of code reuse. Next, they present OOHDM- frame, a syntax for defining the hot-spots of generic Web application designs. Web Design Workflow Planning Sheet [PDF] Computers in Design Inc. This diagram shows Web design workflow through various stages: site definition, design documentation, create site structure, visual design and production, technical design and production, and publication and promotion. Web Site Design: Less is More [PDF] *FEE* Jesse Reisman This article discusses poor Web design. Having too much information on a Web page and other things not to do with a Web site are discussed. A checklist for good Web design is also included. Back to the top Interface Architectural Model for User Interfaces of Web - based Applications [PDF] Petr Hejda This paper addresses the problem of making the user interface user friendly and easy to manage, by introducing an architectural model for user interfaces of Web- based applications. The model reflects both the physical partitioning of the application as well as the placement of user interface components. The presented model is a synthesis of two groups of models. The first group contains multi-tier architecture models currently used in the design of Web-based applications. The other group of models consists of traditional models developed by the HCI community. Guidelines for Hypermedia Usability Inspection [PDF] *FEE* Maria F. Costabile and Maristella Matera This article discusses the authors research evaluating the usability of hypermedia systems, offline and online. They discuss an inspection technique which uses operational guidelines, called Abstract Tasks (ATs), which systematically drive the inspection activities, which allow even less experienced evaluators to achieve valuable results. Klare's "Useful Information" is Useful for Web Designers [PDF] *FEE* Kristin Zibell This paper discusses how George Klare's useful information for communicators can be useful for Web designers also. Klare's definition of readability and two principles are discussed and explained how they can be essential to Web design. Modeling the User Interface of Web Applications with UML [PDF] Rolf Hennicker and Nora Koch Based on a UML extension for Web applications of previous work, the authors are focusing in this paper on the user interface design of Web applications, describing in detail the methodological steps - part of the UWE design process - to transform a model of the navigation into a user interface model. They propose a UML profile for the Web, which supports sketching and storyboarding (techniques that are widely used by UI designers without a precise notation). The strength of the UML models presented is given by the fact that they provide a precise notation and can be used as a basis for a semiautomatic generation of UI templates for Web applications. Object - Oriented Conceptual Modeling of Web Application Interfaces: The OO-H Method Abstract Presentation Model [PDF] Cristina Cachero, Jaime Gómez and Oscar Pastor Object-oriented conceptual modeling approaches must be reconsidered in order to address the particulars associated with the design of Web application interfaces. In this context, the paper introduces the presentation layer of OO-HMethod, an extension of the OO-Method conceptual modeling approach that is devoted to the specification of this kind of interfaces. The OO-HMethod presentation approach is based on the concept of templates. Each page template may fall into one among a set of categories, which together cover the different presentation perspectives captured in the model. Back to the top Methods A Comparative Study of Methods for Hypermedia Development [PDF] Nora Koch This paper presents a comparative study of the most relevant methodologies for hypermedia and Web development published in the last few years. Most of these methods focus on the design of hypermedia applications; only a few cover more aspects of the life cycle, such as requirements capture, implementation and/or testing. One common characteristic is the separation of the domain analysis from the specification of the navigation space structure as well as from the design of the user interface. A brief description of each of these methodologies is given as well as a set of comparisons. This paper compares the main concepts, the phases of steps of the model, CASE Tool support as well as the modelling technique, notation and graphical representation. Audience - Driven Web Design [PDF] Olga De Troyer WSDM, or Web Site Design Method ("WiSDoM") is a new approach for designing Web sites. Rather than taking an organization's data or database as starting point and wondering how all of that should be displayed on the Internet (the so-called data- driven approach), WSDM takes as starting point the needs and requirements of the intended audience(s) of the Web site. This approach we call audience-driven. WSDM gives consideration to the fact that the target audiences of a Web site may be composed of different "kinds" of visitors/users. A UML - Based Methodology for Hypermedia Design [PDF] Rolf Hennicker and Nora Koch This paper proposes a methodology for hypermedia design which is based on a UML profile for the hypermedia domain. Starting with a use case analysis and a conceptual model of the application this paper first provides guidelines for modeling the navigation space. From the navigation space model, in a next step, a navigational structure model can be derived which shows how to navigate through the navigation space using access elements like indexes, guided tours, queries and menus. Finally, a presentation model is constructed that can be directly implemented by HTML frames. Case Study Based Evaluation of Hypermedia Design Methods [PDF] Phyo Kyaw and Cornelia Boldyreff This paper evaluates different hypermedia design methods by redesigning an existing Web site (reverse engineering) to a new structured Web site and by applying the methods to create a new Web site (forward engineering). It also illustrates how complex and large existing Web sites can be redesigned into maintainable structures using systematic design methods. The paper presents two hypermedia design methods, namely RMM and OOHDM, including their overview and their detailed design stages to reverse engineer an existing design. Conceptual Modeling of Device - Independent Web Applications [PDF] Jaime Gómez, Cristina Cachero and Oscar Pastor This article discusses an approach called the object oriented-hypermedia (OO-H) method. This model provides a framework that captures relevant properties involved in modeling and implementing Web application interfaces. Cutting Corners: Shortcuts in Model - Driven Web Design [PDF] Larry Constantine Shortcuts may be required due to impossible deadlines. This paper discusses an approach to usage-centered design used in a crunch-mode Web-deployed classroom information system. Design and Maintenance of Data - Intensive Web Sites [PDF] Paolo Atzeni, Giansalvatore Mecca and Paolo Merialdo This paper introduces a methodology for designing and maintaining large Web sites based on the assumption that data to be published in the site are managed using a DBMS. The authors see the process of designing the site as the result of two intertwined activities: the database design and the hypertext design. A new logical data model, called ADM, is used to describe the structure of a Web hypertext. Based on the ADM scheme of the site, they introduce a language, called PENELOPE, that allows to automatically generate HTML pages starting from the database content. Designing User - Centered Web Applications in Web Time [PDF] *FEE* Molly Hammar Cloyd This article discusses a case study of an analytic-applications company, Decisionism, redefined their software development process to design usable Web applications in Web time. High - Performance Web Site Design Techniques [PDF] Arun Iyengar, Jim Challenger, Daniel Dias and Paul Dantzig This article discusses several techniques used at popular Web sites that improve performance and availability. The authors describe how they used these techniques for the 1998 Olympic Winter Games Web sites, which was one of the most popular sites at that time. Methodologies for Web Information System Design [PDF] Peter Barna, Flavius Frasincar, Geert-Jan Houben and Richard Vdovjak Web Information Systems (WIS) in many applications replace existing traditional (notWeb based) information systems. Since the nature of WIS differs from the nature of traditional information systems there is a strong demand for design methodologies specifically oriented towards WIS design. The complexity of WIS implies the need for an effective design process and a rigorous and systematic design approach. In this paper we briefly describe the navigation and adaptation design in selected WIS design methodologies, RMM, OOHDM, UWE, and particularly Hera. Mining Web Logs to Improve Website Organization [PDF] Ramakrishnan Srikant and Yinghui Yang Sometimes the hierarchical organization of a Web site may be different from what is expected by a visitor. This paper discusses an algorithm that will automatically find pages on a Website with a location different from where expected. An algorithm is presented that discovers expected locations. Algorithms for selecting expected locations are also presented. Sitemaps, Storyboards, and Specifications: A Sketch of Web Site Design Practice [PDF] Mark W. Newman and James A. Landay This paper discusses a study of Web site design practice. The purpose of the study was to find issues that would help guide the design of an informal tool to support Web design. DENIM is introduced which is an informal Web site design tool developed from the study results. Systematic Hypermedia Design [PDF] V. Balasubramanian, Michael Bleber and Tomás Isakowitz Hypermedia structuring and navigation requires design methodologies different from those developed for standard information systems. This article details the authors successful application of Relationship Management Methodology (RMM), a hypermedia systems analysis and design methodology, to ACM SIGLINK's LINKBase. LINKBase is a World-Wide Web (WWW) application, which dynamically generates WWW pages from a relational database containing information about hypertext-related events such as conferences, publications, authors, and sponsoring organizations. The HyDev Approach to Model - Based Development of Hypermedia Applications [PDF] Peter Pauen and Josef Voss This paper introduces the HyDev approach to a structured and systematic development of hypermedia applications. HyDev focuses on the early phases of the development process, i.e. analysis and design. The requirements and key aspects of the software to be built are captured with tightly coupled description models. The main emphasis of this paper lies on the models for the requirements engineering phase which, simply spoken, capture structure, content and presentation of a hypermedia application at an appropriate level of abstraction. Usage - Centered Engineering for Web Applications [PDF] Larry L. Constantine and Lucy A.D. Lockwood This paper discusses a lightweight form of usage-centered design that is proved to be effective in designing highly usable Web-based applications. This approach is fully compatible with traditional object-oriented software engineering methods and newer agile techniques. This approach employs techniques that develop simplified models of user roles, tasks, and user interface contents. Using an Engineering Approach to Understanding and Predicting Web Authoring and Design [PDF] Emilia Mendes, Nile Mosley and Steve Counsell This paper has two parts, the first part discusses a case study evaluation where characteristics of Web applications and the effort involved in designing and authoring the applications were measured. The second part discusses how the measurements can be used to predict these characteristics. Utilizing Abstract WebEngineering Concepts: An Architecture [PDF] *FEE* Andreas Heberle, Jörn Rehse, Bernd Onasch and Börje Sieling This paper discusses an architecture and implementation issues of a support system for building Web applications based on current WebEnginewering research. The WebComposition model is then summarized. This explains why the architecture enables developers to utilize WebCompostion for developing Web applications and also how this can ensure performance scalability and security. Web Design: An Overview [DOC] Sheander Tou Presented here is an overview of current Web technologies and some general principles that must be considered before 'putting the rubber to the road.' The actual task of programming a Web page will not be extensively discussed, because such a discussion would invariably be a textbook, but the needed terms will be defined and a list of helpful Web sites included. Web Engineering Device Independent Web Services [PDF] *FEE* Engin Kirda This paper discusses a methodology and tool that will support the Web developer to build flexible and device independent Web services. MyXML will support the automatic generation of static and dynamic pages and support for interconnection to information sources such as databases. Back to the top Object-Oriented Hypermedia Design Method (OOHDM) An Object Oriented Approach to Web -Based Application Design [PDF] Daniel Schwabe and Gustavo Rossi This paper discusses the use of an object-oriented approach for Web-based applications design, based on a method named Object Oriented Hypermedia Design Method (OOHDM). OOHDM is introduced and the main activities are described. Related work and future research in this area are further discussed. Building Hypermedia Applications as Navigational Views of Information Models [PDF] Daniel Schwabe and Gustavo Rossi This paper presents and discusses an approach to define hypermedia applications as navigational views of object-oriented hypermedia schema. This approach allows separation of content design, navigational design and abstract interface design which will allow a seamless evolution from abstract domain models to concrete implementation of hypermedia applications. Developing Hypermedia Applications using OOHDM [PDF] Daniel Schwabe and Gustavo Rossi This paper argues that a method providing systematic guidance to design is needed due to the problems encountered while designing large scale, dynamic Web-based applications, which combine complex navigation patterns with sophisticated computational behavior. OOHDM is the introduced and the main activities described, namely: conceptual design, navigational design, abstract interface design and implementation. How OOHDM designs can be implemented in the WWW is discussed. OOHDM - Web: An Environment for Implementation of Hypermedia Applications in the WWW [PDF] Daniel Schwabe, Rita de Almeida Pontes and Isabela Moura This paper shows an environment, OOHDM-Web that allows template driven Website for applications designed using, OOHDM. The authors show how this environment allows direct mapping of navigation and interface constructs of OOHDM into a library of functions in the CGI scripting environment CGI-LUA, extended with the DB-LUA package. OOHDM-Web allows implementation of hypermedia applications as CGI scripts that produce dynamically generated pages, whose contents are fed from a database and integrated with pre-defined templates. The paper presents the advantages of combining the two techniques, template-driven implementations and design methods, reaping benefits of their respective strengths. OOHDM - WEB: Rapid Prototyping of Hypermedia Applications in the WWW [PDF] Daniel Schwabe and Rita de Almeida Pontes This paper presents OOHDM-Web, an environment allowing rapid prototyping of hypermedia applications designed using OOHDM in the WWW. This environment allows direct mapping of navigation and interface constructs of OOHDM into a library of functions in the CGI scripting environment CGI-LUA, extended with the DB-LUA package. This environment allows implementation of hypermedia applications as CGI scripts that produce dynamically generated pages, whose contents are fed from a database and integrated with pre-defined templates. Systematic Hypermedia Application Design with OOHDM [PDF] Daniel Schwabe, Gustavo Rossi and Simone D.J. Barbosa This paper analyzes the process of hypermedia applications design and implementation, focusing in particular on two critical aspects of these applications: the navigational and interface structure. The authors discuss the way in which we build the navigation and abstract interface models using the Object-Oriented Hypermedia Design Method (OOHDM); they show which concerns must be taken into account for each task by giving examples from a real project we are developing, the Portinari Project. They show which implementation concerns must be considered when defining interface behavior, discussing both a Toolbook and a HTML implementation of the example application. Back to the top Navigation Design Abstraction and Reuse Mechanisms in Web Application Models [PDF] Gustavo Rossi, Daniel Schwabe and Fernando Lyardet This paper analyzes different abstraction and reuse mechanisms that should be used in Web applications to improve their evolution and maintenance. This paper first reviews the OOHDM approach for defining a Web application model, in particular the separation of the navigational model from the conceptual model. Next this paper focuses on abstraction and composition mechanisms in both models showing how to combine OOHDM's views with the concept of node aggregation. The authors introduce navigation and interface patterns and show the way in which patterns generate the architecture of Web design frameworks. A Goal - Driven Approach to Web Navigation Modeling [PDF] *FEE* Christophe Gnaho and François Larcher This paper proposes and discusses a goal driven approach to Web application engineering. This approach allows isolation of Web application's data management, navigation design and interface design, which will support reusability, portability and maintenance tasks. An Empirical Analysis of Web Page Revisitation [PDF] Bruce McKenzie and Andy Cockburn This paper discusses a study of logged data of Web use for a period of four months. The method and results are detailed. A Systematic Relationship Analysis for Modeling Information Domains [PDF] Joonhee Yoo and Michael Bieber Many conceptual modeling and system design methodologies provide tools to help system designers to model the real world. No guidelines exist, however, for determining the relationships within conceptual domains or implementations. RNA (Relationship Navigation Analysis), based on a generic relationship taxonomy, provides a systematic way of identifying useful relationships in application domains. Developers can then implement each relationship as a link. This paper presents RNA and its generic relationship taxonomy, describing their use for system analysis. Conceptual Navigation Analysis: A Device and Platform Independent Navigation Specification [PDF] Cristina Cachero, Nora Koch, Jaime Gómez and Oscar Pastor Increasing personalization and mobility demands, together with the high pace at which new devices and technologies are appearing, causing such applications and their related models to become increasingly complex and less reusable. This problem would be lessened by integrating a navigation analysis model exclusively based on the different user requirements. This article introduces two constructs that increase the level of abstraction at which navigational aspects are captured, namely the Navigation Semantic Unit (NSU) and the Navigation Semantic Link (NSL), and which are in the core of a navigational model independent from users, platforms and access devices. Also, this paper outlines how this model can be integrated in a range of user-oriented hypermedia modeling approaches, and influence the way their navigation design models are constructed. Clustering Navigation Patterns on a Website using a Sequence Alignment Method [PDF] Birgit Hay, Geert Wets and Koen Vanhoof In this paper, a new method is illustrated to cluster navigation patterns on a Website. Instead of clustering users by means of a Euclidean distance measure, in this approach users are partitioned into clusters using a Sequence Alignment Method. This method ensures that sequential relationships, which are captured in the data, are taken into account. Design and Implementation of WNDL - Web Navigation Description Language [PDF] Chun-Nan Hsu, Hung-Hsuan Huang, Siek Harianto, Elan Hung, Jiann-Jyh Lu and Chien-Chi Chang Utilization of the World Wide Web can be boosted if we can explore the "deep Web" and integrate information from various Web sites together. However, to automate deep Web exploration and data integration requires custom-made software to accommodate the differences among Web sites, and thus is error-prone and time- consuming. This paper defines a language called Web Navigation Description Language (WNDL) to describe a user session. WNDL is sufficiently expressive to cover a wide variety of user sessions and has been deployed for several real-world Web-based applications. Exploring Information Navigation Strategies with a Computational Model [PDF] Craig S. Miller and Roger W. Remington A computational model of a user navigating Web pages was used to identify factors that affect Web site usability. The model approximates a typical user searching for specified target information in architectures of varying menu depth. Search strategies, link ambiguity, and memory capacity were varied and model predictions compared to human user data. The best fits to observed data were obtained when the model assumed that users 1) used little memory capacity; 2) selected a link whenever its perceived likelihood of success exceeded a threshold; and, 3) opportunistically searched below threshold links on selected pages prior to returning to the parent page. Feature Matrices: A Model for Efficient and Anonymous Mining of Web Navigations [PDF] Cyrus Shahabi, Farnoush Banaei-Kashani, Jabed Faruque and Adil Faisal This paper proposes a new model, which is a generalization of the Vector model, for efficient mining of Web navigations. The authors demonstrate that this model, the FM model, is flexible, tunable, adaptable, and can be used for both anonymous and online analysis. Several experiments were conducted to evaluate and verify the model. Geospatial Mapping and Navigation of the Web [PDF] Kevin S. McCurley This paper focuses on the problem of indexing and navigation of Web resources. Different approaches to discovering geographical content for Web pages were investigated. A navigational tool for browsing Web resources by geographic proximity is presented. Guidelines for Designing Web Navigation [PPT] D.K. Farkas and J.B. Farkas This PowerPoint presentation covers the following topics: providing orientation information, home page orientation, lower level orientation, augmenting link-to-link navigation, structure representation and the site map, searching and indexing your content, and provide a link to the home page throughout the site. Imprudent Linking Weaves a Tangled Web [PDF] *FEE* Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton This article discusses what is good about hypertext linking and what is bad. This article also discusses how links should be used. Integration of Navigational Aids in the User Interface [PDF] Mountaz Hascoët This paper describes how four independent navigational aids can be smoothly integrated in a unified graphical user interface. The aim is to improve user performance in most Web related tasks through integration of navigational aids. The navigational aids considered are (1) a short term history (the six last visited pages), (2) a personal "BestOf", (the six most visited Web pages), (3) an area of unclassified Web pages stored to be read later and (4) an overview of an organized collection of bookmarks. Intention Modeling for Web Navigation [PDF] Xiaoming Sun, Zheng Chen, Liu Wenyin and Wei-Ying Ma In this paper, a novel global optimization method referred to as the multi-step dynamic n-gram model is proposed for predicting the user's next intended action while he/she is surfing the Web. Unlike the traditional n-gram model, in which the predicted action is taken as the ultimate goal and is only determined by its previous n actions, this method predicts the next action that lies on the optimal path that leads to the ultimate goal. Experiments show that the prediction accuracy of our proposed method can achieve up to 3.65% (or about 11% relative) improvement to the traditional one-step n-gram model. Lost on the Web: An Introduction to Web Navigation Research [PDF] Geoffrey Xu, Andy Cockburn and Bruce McKenzie The current form of the Web has two major problems in supporting Web navigation, the user's cognitive overhead and their disorientation. Solving these problems is an important issue in Web navigation research. This paper reports on the current state of Web navigation support, the navigation problems that remain and describes ongoing research and development of interactive visualizations that aim to ease these problems. This paper discusses Web navigation concepts, a user's characteristics and behaviors on the Web, Web navigation mechanisms and their problems, and interactive visualization schemes for Web navigation. Modeling an Opportunistic Strategy for Information Navigation [PDF] Craig S. Miller and Roger W. Remington This paper describes a model that captures functionality significant properties of the user and site architecture. A new navigation strategy is introduced and it is shown how the model's aggregate behavior tightly fits results from an empirical comparison of different sire architectures. Alternate design and parameters are explored to help identify critical elements in the model's design. 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. Support Concepts for Web Navigation: A Cognitive Engineering Approach [PDF] Mark A. Neerincx, Jasper Lindenberg and Steven Pemberton This paper discusses four fundamental cognitive determinants of navigation performance that can explain why current Network User Interfaces (NUIs) can cause problems like unsuccessful navigation. These determinants are: situation awareness, spatial ability, task-set switching, and user control of support. Three "refined" support concepts were developed: categorizing landmarks, history map and navigation assistant. This paper presents an example implementation of the navigation assistant. Towards a Relationship Navigation Analysis [PDF] Joonhee Yoo and Michael Bieber This paper presents Relation Navigation Analysis (RNA). Also discussed are: the philosophy of maximum access and the hypermedia philosophy of design, an overview of RNA's steps, focus on relationship analysis, introduction to RNA's generic relationship taxonomy, a deeper layer of the taxonomy, an example case study, and future directions. What Do Web Users Do? An Empirical Analysis of Web Use [PDF] Andy Cockburn and Bruce McKenzie This paper discusses a study of logged client-side actions with the Web over a four month period. The reason for the study is to provide and extend the understanding of Web-use. Back to the top Patterns Hypermedia Patterns and Components for Building Better Web Information Systems [PDF] Martin Gaedke, Fernando Lyardet and Hans-Werner Gellersen This paper presents how the integration of design patterns into a component- based model of implementation such as WebComposition, provide a better infrastructure to allow a smooth transition from design to implementation, higher quality applications, and heavier implementation reuse. Pattern Systems for Hypermedia [PDF] Alejandra Garrido, Gustavo Rossi and Daniel Schwabe Building large hypermedia applications is a hard task, and although there exist many hypermedia design methodologies, we also need design patterns that convey the expertise in the domain. This paper presents three pattern systems intended to provide guidance for different aspects of hypermedia applications; the first one is concerned with the development of software support for hypermedia in the context of object-oriented applications; the second one deals with organizing the navigational structures in a clear and meaningful way for intended readers and the third one comprises patterns for building effective graphical interfaces. Toward an Hypermedia Design Patterns Space [PDF] Jocelyn Nanard and Marc Nanard Finding hypermedia design patterns is becoming a new trend in hypermedia design, however, as in other domains, especially in software engineering and object oriented design, too much increase without control in proposing hypermedia design patterns is going against the purpose of design patterns that is to provide easily reusable solutions to identified problems. The reason is that the meta knowledge about hypermedia design patterns is not yet well organized. Thereby this position paper proposes some directions for organizing the space of hypermedia design patterns and analyzing their use, thus promoting their effective use during design and possibly identifying not yet known design patterns. Towards a Unified Catalog of Hypermedia Design Patterns [PDF] D.M. Germán and D.D. Cowan This paper lists all the known hypermedia design patterns. The patterns are reviewed and changes are made. The authors propose a standard vocabulary for the patterns and discuss a design patterns system which will organize the patterns and help find problems and a solution. Usability Patterns for Applications on the World Wide Web [PDF] Kimberly Perzel and David Kane This paper presents a collection of patterns that describe solutions to the problem of usability on the Web. Each pattern is explained and an example of its use is given. Visualization of Navigation Patterns on a Web Site Using Model - Based Clustering [PDF] Igor Cadez, David Heckerman, Christopher Meek, Padhraic Smyth and Steven White This paper presents a new methodology for visualizing navigation patterns on a Web site by a clustering approach. The details of the technology and a tool based on it called WebCANVAS are described. This paper illustrates the use of this technology on user-traffic data from msnbc.com. Back to the top User Interface Design A Global Perspective on Web Site Usability [PDF] *FEE* Shirley A. Becker and Florence E. Mottay This article discusses why many companies have failed in developing online business applications. This article develops the usability assessment model which identifies and measures usability factors. Usability problems the authors have encountered and usability strategies are also listed. An Object - Oriented Model for Designing the Human - Computer Interface of Hypermedia Applications [PDF] G. Rossi, D. Schwabe, C.J.P. Lucena and D.D. Cowan This paper presents an object-oriented approach to specifying the user interface of a hypermedia application using the Abstract Data Views (ADVs) concept. The authors discuss ADVs in the context of an object-oriented hypermedia design method (OOHDM) showing how to specify the interface aspects of hypermedia objects including nodes, links and access structures such as indexes and guided tours using high-level abstraction and composition mechanisms such as aggregation and generalization/ specialization. In addition, they present ADVcharts and Configuration Diagrams as a design tool to specify both the interface and the static relationships between interface objects and navigational objects in the hypermedia application. Finally they discuss some further issues such as the description of reusable interface objects and patterns of interaction styles, and compare our approach with other formal models used during hypermedia interface design. Designing for Customer Interaction on the Web [PDF] *FEE* Steffen Klein This article discusses a Web interface design developed at Daimler Chrysler Research called the VisiLease. This design was developed to help customers find information about car leasing and financing on the Web in a simpler fashion. They wanted customers to communicate their needs and to evaluate products based on those needs. The design was able to reduce the interface to one simple page. Design of User Interfaces for the Web [PDF] Alan Dix This paper examines several facets of user interface design for the world-wide Web. First it considers the use of the Web as a platform for prototyping or deploying user interface. Second it looks at guidelines and issues for the design of Web sites and the nature of the Web medium. Third it examines the way in which interfaces can help users to manage the complexity of the Web including history mechanisms and diagrammatic overviews. Finally the paper looks at the future of the Internet as an integrative phenomenon. Need for Multi - Aspect Measures to Support Evaluation of Complex Human - Computer Interfaces [PDF] *FEE* Siegfried Treu This paper presents types of evaluative measures necessary to determine one or more aspects of system performance. Design, testing and validation of complex measures are characterized. Three major evaluation aspects (synergism, efficiency, and effectiveness) are shown to help guide the design of these measures. Primitive Interface Structures in Browsing the Web [PDF] *FEE* Y. Rho and TD Gedeon This paper defines four primitive logical browsing structures. These are the sequential, go-to, nested, and iterative structures. To support these primitive browsing structures, five groups of interface structures are proposed in this paper. These are the sequential, go-to, nested, loop, and evolutionary interface structures. Usability Metrics: Tracking Interface Improvements [PDF] *FEE* Jakob Nielsen This article discusses the importance of metrics and how different product attributes are measured. Web User Role Checklist - Form C2 [PDF] Constantine & Lockwood, Ltd. This checklist rates: orientation, incumbents (actual users in role), interaction, information, and role support. Back to the top