model based layouting
DESCRIPTION
Offering user interfaces for interactive applications that are flexible enough to be adapted to various context-of-use scenarios such as supporting different display sizes or addressing various input styles requires an adaptive layout. We describe an approach for layout derivation that is embedded in a model-based user interface generation process. By an interactive and tool-supported process we can efficiently create a layout model that is composed of interpretations of the other design models and is consistent to the application design. By shifting the decision about which interpretations are relevant to support a specific context-of-use scenario from design-time to run-time, we can flexibly adapt the layout to consider new device capabilities, user demands and user interface distributions. We present our run-time environment that is able to evaluate the relevant model layout information to constraints as they are required and to reassemble the user interface parts regarding the updated containment, order, orientation and sizes information of the layout-model. Finally we present results of an evaluation we performed to test the design and run-time efficiency of our model-based layouting approach.TRANSCRIPT
May, 30th 2008 Sebastian Feuerstack I [email protected]
Model-based Layout Generation The Multi-Access Service Platform
Sebastian Feuerstack, Marco Blumendorf, Veit Schwartze, Sahin Albayrak
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Agenda
• Motivation• Approach• Layout Model Generation Process • The Multi-Access Service Platform• Tool• Evaluation• Conclusion
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Approach
A model-based user interface layouting that differs from previous approaches in two general aspects:
1. We interpret the information from already existing user interface design models using an interactive tool.
• Reduce amount of information for specifying the layout• Generate a layout that is consistent to the design models
2. We shift the decision about which of the statements are applied from design-time to run-time to enable
• flexible context-of-use adaptations of the user interface layout• describe new context-of-use adaptations of the layout without the
need to change the application
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Layout Model Generation Process
• Two kind of layout statements for interpreting the design models:
1. Relevant to a specific interactive application2. Relevant to a certain context-of-use (device, user, environment)
• By a simulation, statements can be applied for (pre-defined) various screens or context-of-use scenarios
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Layout Characteristics
• Containtment– c3 contains e3 & e4
• Order– e1 before e2, e4 after e3– Presentation depends on
localization / context!
• Orientation– c2 & c3 horizontal– e1 & e2 vertical
• Size– e3 width/height = ½– width (e3) = 3 x width (e4)
• Interdependencies between characteristics require definition of a strict processing order
• Size to ensure aspect ratio• Orientation for efficient space
utilization
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Properties of a Layout Statement
Design Models
Context-of-Use
Priority
Condition Type
Scope
Layout Characteristics
relative
absolute
ScreenApplication
Metamodel Size
Containment
Orientation
Tasks
Domain
AUIDialog
CUI
Platform
UserEnvironment
1
99
fix
maximumminimum ...
Order
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The Multi-Access Service Platform (MASP)
• Agent-based run-time environment making design models alive
• Layout Model Agent receives user interface distribution + context to calculate the CUI layout
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Layout Generation in MASP
• Statements are selected based on Context and Distribution, evaluated and solved at run-time.– reduces the constraint network to solve– can consider contexts unknown during design-time
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Layout Model Generator
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Recipe Finder / 4-Star Cooking Assistant
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Evaluation: Design Efficiency
• Model-based layout generation of an existing application
• Sequentially 4 situations were layouted with different amount of elements to layout (1) and with different complexity (2)
• Results:– Containtment (3) and Order (5) can
be derived from task model efficently– The amount of statements to specify
decreases with each additional screen
– Orientation (4) cannot be derived from the design models
– Layouts for User Interface distributions can be generated at run-time.
– Size related statements can be efficiently derived by design models and context
Screen 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)
1.Recipe Search
19 7 9 3 3 4 19
2.Shopping List
13 8 0 6 1 2 9
3. Distribution: PDA,Touch
4,9 8 0 1,2 0 0 3
4.Cooking Aid 15 10 0 2 2 4 8
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Evaluation: Efficiency at Run-time
• Measured for 4 situations:– the statement selection and
evaluation (3)– The solving time to generate the
coordinates (4)
• Results:– Selecting relevant statements
(1) before the constraint calculation (2) is cheap (3) and reduced the solving time (4)
=>We can instantly recalculate the layout at run-time to reflect context changes. E.g. distance-ware layouting.
Screen 1) 2) 3) 4)
1.Recipe Search
25 142 <1ms 14 ms
2.Shopping List
20 107 <1ms 8 ms
3. Distribution PDA,Touch
8,10 56,81 <1ms 8,10ms
4. Cooking Aid
23 130 <1ms 13 ms
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Conclusions & Further Work
• The information of design models of a model-based UI design can be used to derive a layout model.
• We use statements for the interpretation of design models that we evaluate at run-time– We can ensure a consistent user interface layout– We can consider context-of-use adaptations of the layout even to
situations not explicitly addressed during design-time
• Further Work:– Evaluation of huge applications.– Identification of a set of statements that can be generally applied for
generating a layout.– Improve tool support.
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