We are using our mobile devices in an increasing number of dynamic contexts, thus we need more and more context-dependent applications. However, only end users can know the most appropriate ways their applications should react to contextual events. In order to facilitate end user development of context-dependent applications in smartphones a first generation of mobile environments has been proposed in the market. In this work we analyse three such Android applications in terms of their ability to express the relevant concepts and their usability, also through a user study. We indicate some limitations of the current solutions and provide indications that can support future work for providing more effective results.

Abstract. Developing context-dependent applications involves indicating the relevant contextual events and the corresponding actions. Based on an analysis of the usability and expressiveness of three Android apps for developing such applications, we have started a study that aims to identify a general solution able to better represent how users classify the relevant concepts in order to facilitate their manipulation during development. We report on a card sorting experiment carried out with 18 users for this purpose, and an analysis of its results, with suggestions for improving current designs and informing future solutions.