Designing user interfaces for collaborative applications: A model-based approach

Abstract

For collaborative applications to be usable, their user interfaces should facilitate the process of sharing information within a group while carrying out common tasks. Currently, the design based on models is one of the most used techniques that seeks to assure high usability. In user interface design, models can describe and help to analyze abstract interface elements and relationships among them, as well as to guide the implementation using physical components. An approach for designing user interfaces using models at different abstraction levels is presented in this chapter. We also introduce a platform that provides a set of replicated components as a toolkit that facilitates the creation process of groupware user interfaces. In order to apply the proposal, we consider a case study based on a help system for risk operations in financial institutions. Specifically, the proposal aims at guiding the whole development process of user interfaces for collaborative applications. © 2009 Springer-Verlag London.