On the transferability of a meta-design model supporting end-user development

Abstract

Purpose. The availability of different methods (and models) that support the design and evaluation of interactive systems raises a question about the transferability of such methods between application sectors and domains. The transferability refers to the selection and application of a method in a development context, qualifying it for the interactive system in hand. The transferability process should help to identify the main features of the new contexts of use, also taking into account that the system to be developed has to ensure universal access. Moreover, it should allow designers to capitalize on previous development experiences in a systematic way. Method: In order to analyze some of the many challenges determined by the transfer process, this paper reports experiences of transferring a meta-design model, whose aim is to support the design of systems that enable people to perform end-user development activities. The model is further developed when applied in another application domain. Result: A meta-design model can be used in a novel context supporting the design of systems for users performing development activities. Based on the reported experiences on active people involvement, hints for the transferability of any model are provided. Conclusion. People can actively contribute to system design, development and evolution over time using the novel approach.

Defining Configurable Virtual Reality Templates for End Users

“…We introduced an end-user development approach for supporting the configuration of a VR environment by users without skills in programming and/or 3D modelling. The approach leverages on meta-design [2,11,15], introducing the hybrid role of the EUDev, that is, both a designer and a user. The EUDev configures the templates created by TB, providing customised VR experiences for users who consume the final VR content.…”

“…In order to define the workflow for supporting end users in creating their own VR experiences, we applied the three levels identified in the meta-design approach [2,11,15] which envisions the participation of end users in a hybrid role of designers and consumers of software artifacts. It defines three hierarchical levels in the creation and evolution of the software, which exchange information among them, exploiting different languages and tools at each level.…”

“…In this paper, we propose an End-User Development approach [29] for supporting the configuration of a VR environment by users without skills in programming and/or 3D modelling. The approach includes three roles inspired by meta-design [2,11,15], collaborating for transforming the template of a VR environment created by an expert into a peculiar VR experience configured by an end user. In particular, we detail the engineering of a solution dedicated to expert users for including configurable objects in a VR environment, whose behaviour is defined by end users through Event-Condition-Action rules expressed in natural language.…”