User development of applications provides end users with an alternative to the traditional process of systems development by allowing them to solve job related problems by developing their own software applications. User developed applications (UDAs) support decision making and organisational processes in the majority of organisations, and the ability to develop small applications forms part of the job requirements for many positions. Despite its pervasiveness, there are many risks associated with user development of applications. These risks result primarily from decreases in application quality that arise when end users have had little training and do not follow system development methodologies. The primary aim of the research described in this thesis is to gain a better understanding of UDA success. In particular, the thesis considers the role of system quality in UDA success and the ability of end user developers to judge whether the applications they develop will have a positive impact on their performance of tasks. The research also investigates factors that might impact upon this ability. The research objectives were addressed through two empirical studies. Two possible models of UDA success provided the starting point for Study 1. The first model is DeLone and McLean’s (1992) model of IS success, and the second model is a version of this model that was modified to address concerns about the DeLone and McLean model and to reflect current research about UDA success. The models were tested using data from a field study involving business people participating in a business policy simulation, where they developed spreadsheet applications to assist in decision making. Structural equation modelling was used to test the models. Neither of the models was well supported by the data. However, the analysis provided strong support for relationships between perceived system quality and user satisfaction, information quality and user satisfaction, user satisfaction and intended use, and user satisfaction and individual impact. It is notable that the model paths that were supported in Study 1 were primarily those that reflect user perceptions rather than objective measures. This study highlighted that user perceptions of information systems success play a significant role in the UDA domain. The results did, however, suggest that there might be a direct relationship between system quality and individual impact. Study 2 was a laboratory experiment and the participants were end users from a range of organisations. A revised research model was developed based on the findings of Study 1, and structural equation modelling was again used to test the model. The model paths that were supported suggest that for small to moderate applications, increases in spreadsheet development knowledge lead to increases in system quality and consequently the development of better quality spreadsheets. They also suggest that for these kinds of applications, end users have realistic perceptions of system quality and hence that user satisfaction may be an appropriate measure of UDA success. The results of Study 2 also provided insight into the role of user involvement in end user development, clarifying the process by which benefits are obtained. The study also provided insight into the importance of spreadsheet development knowledge for successful use (as well as development) of a spreadsheet application. The results described in this thesis have practical implications for the management of user development of applications. They highlight the need either to increase end user levels of development knowledge via training so that end users can cope with applications of greater complexity, or to provide other forms of support for development. The role of organisational standards and guidelines is also be considered in the thesis and it is suggested that there is a particular need for guidelines on what kinds of applications are suitable for end user development.

Owing to a recent online trend of web 2.0, societies have emerged not only culturally but also technologically/virtually. This coupled with semantic web and Web Services have provided end-users with more opportunities to contribute to the web and consequentially have also multiplied their digital needs. One such requirement of a modern-day end-user is to combine the data, view and/or process presented across the web to suit his/her ephemeral needs by developing a novel application known as a service mashup. The end user development of mashup poses significant challenges to the end users. First challenge addressed in this thesis is the scope vs complexity challenge which refers to the impossibility of fully eliminating the technical barrier between a tool and the end user due to the corresponding complexity creeping in while developing new features in tool and extending its scope to provide added functionality. The second challenge arises from the utility=value/effort equation which implies that effort required in developing a mashup decreases the value and hence neutralizes the utility. Given these challenges and the related issues, I made three contributions. The central theme of my proposed approach - for managing these inherent challenges - is that the end user must be integrated into the process of a service composition application. My approach - A Goal-Oriented Mashup Development (GO-MaDe) framework defines, organizes and addresses the problems faced by end-users while composing their applications by proposing a new style of development in the mashup area in a bid to render irrelevant the underlying inherent tensions of the paradigm. My first contribution in this regard is a classification model that takes into account end user centered usability criteria for calibrating mashup tools efforts. Secondly, this research is the pioneer study about the integration of an agile-style analysis-cum-design phase into the mashup development process. Hence, it presents a redefined process of service-based applications development by introducing a spiral process model that introduces a phased, incremental concept of mashup development lifecycle. Based on the spiral model, I have presented a method (KAReM) annotated with domain theory for better acquisition and representation of user requirements encompassed by the APIs or Web Services that are composed to develop a mashup by incorporating the dynamics of goal decompositions using goal based templates. It serves to enhance the end-user experience by facilitating them to explore the problem space and helping them derive the visual representations of their requirements which can then be translated into service compositions. To evaluate my contributions qualitatively and quantitatively I conducted literature reviews, and validated my framework by scenarios and a controlled experiment.

Monteiro, Ingrid Teixeira; de Souza, Clarisse Sieckenius. Autoexpressão e engenharia semiótica do usuário-designer. Rio de Janeiro, 2015. 312p. Tese de Doutorado ± Departamento de Informática, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. / Submitted by Aline Mendes (alinemendes.ufc@gmail.com) on 2015-09-18T12:49:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_itmonteiro.pdf: 31456794 bytes, checksum: 1275bff42f268c5593d202252eb65e26 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Mendes(alinemendes.ufc@gmail.com) on 2015-09-18T12:50:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_itmonteiro.pdf: 31456794 bytes, checksum: 1275bff42f268c5593d202252eb65e26 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-18T12:50:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_itmonteiro.pdf: 31456794 bytes, checksum: 1275bff42f268c5593d202252eb65e26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / This thesis presents research in the area the area of End-User Development (EUD). The first studies in EUD have emerged as an attempt to help end users achieve specific goals of personalization and customization of interfaces and systems, primarily for their own benefit. As needs evolve, end users have to know and often master more complex computing concepts and practices. In this context, there have been a growing number of initiatives to encourage, teach and support users in programming and thinking computationally. In general, much emphasis is given to problem solving, logical reasoning and other common computer VFLHQWLVWV¶ VNLOOV  +RZHYHU  VXSSRUWHG E\ 6HPLRWLc Engineering, a semiotics-based theory that describes human-computer interaction as communication between designers and users, we believe that interactive computer systems are communication artifacts: that the person who creates the system sends various messages, with particular characteristics to the person who uses it. In this thesis, we present an extensive study in which end users, acting as designers, create computational artifacts for communication purposes. Research has shown that the participants took programming and other development activities not as end in themselves but as a means to build their messages. We discuss how the change in perspective (from problem-solving to communication) reveals a range of underexplored phenomena, such as self-expression of the designers and the pragmatics of interaction languages they build. Another contribution of this thesis is an extension to Semiotic Engineering, named EUME ± End-User Semiotic Engineering, a new way to look at Semiotic Engineering, in the perspective of end users acting as designers. / A tese apresenta uma pesquisa inserida na área de End-User Development (EUD). As primeiras iniciativas nesta área surgiram como uma tentativa de auxiliar os usuários finais a atingirem objetivos específicos de personalização e customização de interfaces e sistemas, prioritariamente para benefício próprio. Conforme as necessidades evoluem, os usuários finais precisam conhecer e muitas vezes dominar conceitos e práticas mais complexos de computação. Neste contexto, têm surgido várias iniciativas para incentivar, ensinar e apoiar estes usuários a programarem e a pensarem computacionalmente. Geralmente, muita ênfase é dada para a questão da resolução de problemas, raciocínio lógico e outras habilidades comuns a cientistas da computação. Entretanto, apoiados na Engenharia Semiótica, uma teoria de base semiótica que descreve a interação humano-computador como uma comunicação entre designers e usuários, consideramos que sistemas computacionais interativos são artefatos comunicacionais: quem cria o sistema transmite mensagens, com características particulares, a quem os utiliza. Nesta tese, apresentamos um estudo em profundidade em que usuários finais, atuando como designers, criaram artefatos computacionais para fins de comunicação. A pesquisa mostrou que os participantes tomaram a programação e outras atividades de desenvolvimento não como fins em si, mas como meios para construírem suas mensagens. Discutimos como a mudança de perspectiva (de resolução de problemas para comunicação) revela fenômenos ainda pouco explorados como a autoexpressão dos designers nestes artefatos e a pragmática da linguagem de interação por eles construída. Outra contribuição da tese é uma extensão da Engenharia Semiótica, batizada de EUME ± End-User Semiotic Engineering, uma forma de ver a Engenharia Semiótica na perspectiva do usuário final que atua como designer.

This thesis presents the Simple Internet of Things Enabler (SITE), a smart home solution that allows users to specify and centrally control IoT smart objects. Unlike most existing systems, SITE supports End-User Development (EUD). It includes features that make the system accessible to users that do not possess a background in Information Technology (IT). Hence, it defines a simple language for the specification of control rules for smart objects. It also provides a user interface to graphically illustrate data received from smart objects. Furthermore, we present the SITE architecture and describe the components that enable users to define, register, and operate smart objects within a smart home environment. Since deploying applications on the cloud renders many advantages pertaining to data security, robustness, and elasticity of resources, we additionally propose a cloud-based architecture for SITE. In this case, SITE acts as a service hosted on a cloud platform that realizes monitoring and control of a smart home remotely. Moreover, since most of the objects in any environment are not inherently smart, we propose a framework that affords “everyday” objects the necessary modules to measure and report their state. Hence, users realize the smart objects using a transducer network framework that supports the amalgamation of multiple transducers into a single smart object. To make these objects easily reconfigurable, we apply a plug and play mechanism to enable the clustering of any number of transducers. We propose an algorithm that dynamically detects added and removed transducers from a smart object. To assess the usability of SITE, we conduct an empirical study involving 20 participants belonging to two user groups: users with technical training (IT users) and users without technical training (Non-IT users). We demonstrate that both user groups can satisfactorily build smart objects and define control rules in a smart home environment using SITE.

Mit der steigenden Verfügbarkeit komponenten- und serviceorientiert bereitgestellter Ressourcen und Dienstleistungen entwickelt sich das Web zu einer geeigneten Plattform für vielfältige Anwendungsszenarien. Darauf aufbauend entstehen komposite Webanwendungen durch das Rekombinieren und Verknüpfen vorhandener Bausteine. Auf diese Weise kann ein funktionaler Mehrwert zur Lösung situationsspezifischer Problemstellungen erzielt werden. Zunehmend wird angestrebt, dass Endnutzer selbst als Anwendungsentwickler in Erscheinung treten. Dieses Prinzip, das End-User-Development, ist ökonomisch lukrativ, da Nischenanforderungen effizienter erfüllt werden können. Allerdings stehen dabei insbesondere Domänenexperten ohne Programmiererkenntnisse noch immer vor substantiellen Herausforderungen, wie der bedarfsgerechten Auswahl von Bausteinen und deren korrekten Komposition. Diese Dissertation stellt daher neue Methoden und Werkzeuge für das assistierte End-User-Development von kompositen Webanwendungen vor. Im Ergebnis entsteht das ganzheitliche Konzept einer Kompositionsplattform, die Nicht-Programmierer in die Lage versetzt, eigenständig Anwendungen bedarfsgerecht zu entwickeln und einzusetzen. Als zentrales Element existiert ein hochiteratives Vorgehensmodell, bei dem die Entwicklung und die Nutzung kompositer Webanwendungen weitgehend verschmelzen. Ein wesentliches Merkmal des Ansatzes ist, dass aus Nutzersicht sämtliche Aktivitäten auf fachlicher Ebene stattfinden, während die Kompositionsplattform die technische Umsetzung übernimmt und vor den Nutzern verbirgt. Grundlage hierfür sind Konzepte zur universellen Komposition und eine umfassende Modellbasis. Letztere umfasst semantikbasierte Beschreibungen von Komponenten sowie Kompositionsfragmenten und von deren Funktionalitäten (Capabilities). Weiterhin wird statistisches und semantisches Kompositionswissen sowie Nutzerfeedback modelliert. Darauf aufbauend werden neue, anwendungsunabhängige Mechanismen konzipiert. Hierzu zählt ein Empfehlungssystem, das prozessbegleitend Kompositionsschritte vorschlägt und das erstmals mit Empfehlungsstrategien in hohem Maße an seinen Einsatzkontext angepasst werden kann. Weiterhin sieht der Ansatz semantikbasierte Datenmediation und einen Algorithmus vor, der die Capabilities von Kompositionsfragmenten abschätzt. Diese Konzepte dienen schließlich als Basis für eine in sich zusammenhängende Werkzeugpalette, welche die Aktivitäten des Vorgehensmodells durchgehend unterstützt. Zum Beispiel assistiert ein Wizard Nicht-Programmierern bei der anforderungsgetriebenen Identifikation passender Kompositionsfragmente. Weitere konzipierte Hilfsmittel erlauben es Nutzern, Anwendungen live zu komponieren sowie anzupassen und deren Funktionsweise nachzuvollziehen bzw. zu untersuchen. Die Werkzeuge basieren maßgeblich auf Capabilities zur fachlichen Kommunikation mit Nutzern, als Kompositionsmetapher, zur Erklärung funktionaler Zusammenhänge und zur Erfassung von Nutzeranforderungen. Die Kernkonzepte wurden durch prototypische Implementierungen und praktische Erprobung in verschiedenen Anwendungsdomänen validiert. Zudem findet die Evaluation von Ansätzen durch Performanz-Messungen, Expertenbefragung und Nutzerstudien statt. Insgesamt zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass die Konzepte für die Zielgruppe nützlich sind und als tragfähig angesehen werden können.:1 Einleitung 1.1 Analyse von Herausforderungen und Problemen 1.1.1 Zielgruppendefinition 1.1.2 Problemanalyse 1.2 Thesen, Ziele, Abgrenzung 1.2.1 Forschungsthesen 1.2.2 Forschungsziele 1.2.3 Annahmen und Abgrenzungen 1.3 Aufbau der Arbeit 2 Grundlagen und Anforderungsanalyse 2.1 CRUISE – Architektur und Modelle 2.1.1 Komponentenmetamodell 2.1.2 Kompositionsmodell 2.1.3 Architekturüberblick 2.1.4 Fazit 2.2 Referenzszenarien 2.2.1 Ad-hoc-Erstellung einer CWA zur Konferenzplanung 2.2.2 Geführte Recherche nach einer CWA 2.2.3 Unterstützte Nutzung einer CWA 2.3 Anforderungen 3 Stand von Forschung und Technik 3.1 Kompositionsplattformen für EUD 3.1.1 Webservice-Komposition durch Endnutzer 3.1.2 Mashup-Komposition durch Endnutzer 3.1.3 Fazit 3.2 Empfehlungssysteme im Mashupkontext 3.2.1 Empfehlungsansätze in Kompositionsplattformen 3.2.2 Nutzerfeedback in Empfehlungssystemen 3.2.3 Fazit 3.3 Eingabe funktionaler Anforderungen 3.3.1 Textuelle Ansätze 3.3.2 Graphische Anfrageformulierung 3.3.3 Hierarchische und facettierte Suche 3.3.4 Assistenten und dialogbasierte Ansätze 3.3.5 Fazit 3.4 Ansätze zur Datenmediation 3.4.1 Ontology Mediation 3.4.2 Vertreter aus dem Bereich (Semantic) Web Services 3.4.3 Datenmediation in Mashup-Plattformen 3.4.4 Fazit 3.5 Fazit zum Stand von Forschung und Technik 4 Assistiertes EUD von CWA durch Nicht-Programmierer 4.1 Assistiertes EUD von Mashups 4.1.1 Modellebene 4.1.2 Basismechanismen 4.1.3 Werkzeuge 4.2 Grobarchitektur 5 Basiskonzepte 5.1 Grundlegende Modelle 5.1.1 Capability-Metamodell 5.1.2 Erweiterungen von Komponentenmodell und SMCDL 5.1.3 Nutzer- und Kontextmodell 5.1.4 Metamodell für kontextualisiertes Feedback 5.2 Semantische Datenmediation 5.2.1 Vorbetrachtungen und Definitionen 5.2.2 Techniken zur semantischen Datenmediation 5.2.3 Architektonische Implikationen und Abläufe 5.3 Ableiten von Capabilities 5.3.1 Anforderungen und verwandte Ansätze 5.3.2 Definitionen und Grundlagen 5.3.3 Übersicht über den Algorithmus 5.3.4 Detaillierter Ablauf 5.3.5 Architekturüberblick 5.4 Erzeugung eines Capability-Wissensgraphen 5.4.1 Struktur des Wissensgraphen 5.4.2 Instanziierung des Wissensgraphen 5.5 Zusammenfassung 6 Empfehlungssystem 6.1 Gesamtansatz im Überblick 6.2 Empfehlungssystemspezifische Metamodelle 6.2.1 Trigger-Metamodell 6.2.2 Pattern-Metamodell 6.3 Architektur und Abläufe des Empfehlungssystems 6.3.1 Ableitung von Pattern-Instanzen 6.3.2 Empfehlungsgründe identifizieren durch Trigger 6.3.3 Empfehlungen berechnen 6.3.4 Präsentation von Empfehlungen 6.3.5 Integration von Patterns 6.4 Zusammenfassung 7 Methoden zur Nutzerführung 7.1 Der Startbildschirm als zentraler Einstiegspunkt 7.2 Live-View 7.3 Capability-View 7.3.1 Interaktive Exploration von Capabilities 7.3.2 Kontextsensitive Erzeugung von Beschriftungen 7.3.3 Verknüpfen von Capabilities 7.3.4 Handhabung von Komponenten ohne UI 7.4 Wizard zur Eingabe funktionaler Anforderungen 7.5 Erklärungstechniken 7.5.1 Anforderungen und verwandte Ansätze 7.5.2 Kernkonzepte 7.5.3 Assistenzwerkzeuge 8 Implementierung und Evaluation 8.1 Umsetzung der Modelle und der Basisarchitektur 8.2 Realisierung der Mediationskonzepte 8.2.1 Erweiterung des Kompositionsmodells 8.2.2 Implementierung des Mediators 8.2.3 Evaluation und Diskussion 8.3 Algorithmus zur Abschätzung von Capabilities 8.3.1 Prototypische Umsetzung 8.3.2 Experten-Evaluation 8.4 Umsetzung des Empfehlungskreislaufes 8.4.1 Performanzbetrachtungen 8.4.2 Evaluation und Diskussion 8.5 Evaluation von EUD-Werkzeugen 8.5.1 Evaluation der Capability-View 8.5.2 Prototyp und Nutzerstudie des Wizards 8.5.3 Prototyp und Nutzerstudie zu den Erklärungstechniken 8.6 Fazit 9 Zusammenfassung, Diskussion und Ausblick 9.1 Zusammenfassung und Beiträge der Kapitel 9.2 Einschätzung der Ergebnisse 9.2.1 Diskussion der Erreichung der Forschungsziele 9.2.2 Diskussion der Forschungsthesen 9.2.3 Wissenschaftliche Beiträge 9.2.4 Grenzen der geschaffenen Konzepte 9.3 Laufende und weiterführende Arbeiten A Anhänge A.1 Richtlinien für die Annotation von Komponenten A.2 Fragebogen zur System Usability Scale A.3 Illustration von Mediationstechniken A.4 Komponentenbeschreibung in SMCDL (Beispiel) A.5 Beispiele zu Algorithmen A.5.1 Berechnung einer bestimmenden Entity A.5.2 Berechnung der Ähnlichkeit atomarer Capabilities A.6 Bewertung verwandter Ansätze Literaturverzeichnis Webreferenzen

[pt] Esta tese apresenta um estudo sobre o espaço de problema no contexto do desenvolvimento de tecnologias para terapeutas do Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) e visa contribuir para o design de tecnologias nessa área. Apesar de haver uma grande quantidade de tecnologias para o público com TEA, tais tecnologias possibilitam em geral um uso restrito, tendo em vista a amplitude do chamado Espectro do Autismo e a variedade de Transtornos que as pessoas com um diagnóstico de TEA podem manifestar. Desse modo, torna-se essencial o desenvolvimento de tecnologias mais flexíveis que atendam às necessidades de cada indivíduo com TEA. Além disso, a literatura apresenta relatos pontuais (de sucesso ou insucesso) sobre as tecnologias desenvolvidas, mas não há uma estruturação maior do domínio. Diante disso, consideramos que há uma lacuna com relação à caracterização do problema nessa área, sendo importante explorar o espaço de problema antes de propor novas soluções. Diversos são os desafios envolvidos na adoção de tecnologias para geração de software adaptável por terapeutas de TEA, tais como a falta ou o pouco conhecimento dos terapeutas sobre esse tipo de tecnologia, o tempo escasso para o aprendizado e uso dessas tecnologias e até mesmo a falta de interesse nelas. Realizamos estudos para explorar o espaço de problema no contexto de End User Development (EUD) e levantar os principais significados, questionamentos e dificuldades dos terapeutas relacionados às tecnologias adaptáveis e/ou extensíveis e eles nos mostraram que o uso do conceito de sondas de design foi essencial para a aproximação dos terapeutas com esse tipo de tecnologia e para um aprofundamento, por parte do designer, das dificuldades e necessidades deles e os desafios inseridos nesse contexto. Além disso, esses estudos nos permitiram levantar um conjunto de possíveis alterações e adaptações que uma tecnologia voltada para esse público poderia fazer de modo a atender as necessidades dos terapeutas com seus atendidos. A partir desse conjunto levantado, analisamos essas possíveis alterações com base na teoria da Engenharia Semiótica para o contexto de EUD e investigamos como tecnologias existentes possibilitam ou não fazer esses tipos de alterações. Desse modo, essa pesquisa nos permitiu identificar o domínio de TEA como uma área de aplicação de EUD com diversos desafios, analisá-los com maior profundidade e apontar possíveis caminhos para superá-los, contribuindo para o Design de tecnologias para o público de TEA. / [en] This thesis presents a study on the problem space in the context of development of technologies for Autism Spectrum Disorder s (ASD) therapists and it aims to contribute to the design of technologies in this area. Although there is a large number of technologies to the audience with ASD, such technologies usually allow a limited use, given the extent of the Autism Spectrum and the variety of disorders that people with ASD diagnosis can have. Thus, it is essential to develop more flexible technologies that meet the needs of each individual with ASD. Moreover, the literature presents specific reports (of success or failure) about the developed technologies, but there is no organization of the domain. Therefore, we consider that there is a gap regarding the problem characterization in this area, and it is important to explore the problem space before proposing new solutions. There are several challenges related to the adoption of technologies for generating adaptable software by ASD therapists, such as the lack or little knowledge of the therapists about this kind of technology, the limited time for learning and using these technologies and even the lack of interest. We conducted studies in order to explore the problem space in the context of the End User Development (EUD) and to raise the main meanings, questions and difficulties of the therapists related to adaptable and/or extensible technologies and they showed us that the use of the design probes concept was essential for the approximation of the therapists with such technology type and a deepening understanding of their own difficulties and needs, and the challenges placed in this context. Moreover, these studies have allowed us to raise a set of possible changes and adaptations that a technology targeted for this audience could do in order to address the needs of therapists and their patients. From this achieved set, we have analyzed these possible changes based on the Semiotic Engineering theory for EUD context and we have investigated how existing technologies enable or not these kinds of changes. Thus, this research has enabled us to identify the ASD domain as an EUD application area with several challenges, to analyze them in greater depth and to identify possible ways to overcome them, contributing to the design of technologies for the ASD audience.

One approach to manage collections is to create data about the things in it. This descriptive data is called metadata, and this term is in this thesis used as a collective noun, i.e no plural form exists. A library is a typical example of an organization that uses metadata, to manage a collection of books. The metadata about a book describes certain attributes of it, for example who the author is. Metadata also provides possibilities for a person to judge if a book is interesting without having to deal with the book itself. The metadata of the things in a collection is a representation of the collection that is easier to deal with than the collection itself. Nowadays metadata is often managed in computer-based systems that enable search possibilities and sorting of search results according to different principles. Metadata can be created both by computers and humans. This thesis will deal with certain aspects of the human activity of creating metadata and includes an explorative study of this activity. The increased amount of public information that is produced is also required to be easily accessible and therefore the situation when metadata is a part of the Semantic Web has been considered an important part of this thesis. This situation is also referred to as the Web of Data or Linked Data. With the Web of Data, metadata records living in isolation from each other can now be linked together over the web. This will probably change what kind of metadata that is being created, but also how it is being created. This thesis describes the construction and use of a framework called Annotation Profiles, a set of artifacts developed to enable an adaptable metadata creation environment with respect to what metadata that can be created. The main artifact is the Annotation Profile Model (APM), a model that holds enough information for a software application to generate a customized metadata editor from it. An instance of this model is called an annotation profile, that can be seen as a configuration for metadata editors. Changes to what metadata can be edited in a metadata editor can be done without modifying the code of the application. Two code libraries that implement the APM have been developed and have been evaluated both internally within the research group where they were developed, but also externally via interviews with software developers that have used one of the code-libraries. Another artifact presented is a protocol for how RDF metadata can be remotely updated when metadata is edited through a metadata editor. It is also described how the APM opens up possibilities for end user development and this is one of the avenues of pursuit in future research related to the APM. / <p>QC 20141028</p>

[pt] Tecnologia Assistiva (TA) visa compensar limitações funcionais motoras, sensoriais ou cognitivas de seus usuários. Uma das razões pela qual TA é difícil de projetar e transformar em um produto é a variabilidade dos tipos e graus de deficiência e das características individuais dos seus os usuários (físicas, psicológicas, culturais e ambientais). Esta variabilidade pode ser tratada por meio de configurações. Este trabalho tem como ponto de partida a premissa de que a capacidade para o usuário final de adaptar a TA pode ter o potencial para melhorar a experiência de uso e a qualidade dos produtos. No entanto, antes de empreender tal esforço, devemos responder a perguntas como: o que é configuração no domínio da TA? O que significa a TA para os seus usuários (e para as pessoas ao redor deles)? O que pode, deve ou não deve ser configurado e como? Neste trabalho, foi realizado um estudo de caso que mistura etnografia e pesquisa-ação com um único participante tetraplégico que veio ao nosso laboratório em busca de tecnologia para ajudá-lo em sua vida cotidiana. Primeiro, nós o entrevistamos e observamos suas necessidades e atividades diárias e, em seguida, desenvolvemos uma plataforma protótipo de TA que controla alguns dispositivos, operada simultaneamente por gesto e interação de voz em sua casa inteligente. Ao longo de dois ciclos de pesquisa-ação, investigamos questões de interação e tecnológicas em relação à configuração e ao uso do nosso protótipo. Com base em nossos resultados, propomos um conjunto de dimensões e um framework colaborativo para a configuração de TA. Nossa principal contribuição é propor uma estrutura conceitual para organizar o espaço do problema de configuração de TA que pode apoiar a criação de tecnologias semelhantes. / [en] Assistive Technology (AT) aims at compensating for motor, sensory or cognitive functional limitations of its users. One of the reasons AT is hard to design and turn into a product is the variability of kinds and degrees of disabilities and individual characteristics among users (physical, psychological, cultural and environmental). This variability can be addressed by means of configurations. This work takes as a starting point the premise that the ability for the end-user to adapt AT may have the potential to improve user s experience and the quality of the products. However, before engaging in such endeavor we must answer questions like: what is configuration in the AT domain? What does AT mean to users (and stakeholders)? What could, should or should not be configured and how? In this work, we conducted a case study mixing ethnography and actionresearch with a single tetraplegic participant who came to our lab seeking for technology that could help him in his daily life. First, we interviewed him and observed his daily needs and activities and then we developed an AT platform prototype that controls some devices to be operated simultaneously by gesture and voice interaction in his smart home. Throughout two action-research cycles, we investigated interaction and technological issues regarding our prototype configuration and use. Based on our findings, we propose a set of dimensions and a collaborative framework for AT configuration. Our main contribution is to propose a conceptual structure for organizing the AT configuration problem space to support the design of similar technologies.

Business information systems (BIS) comprise technological (e.g. programs), informational (e.g. content) and social artifacts (e.g. collaboration structures). Typically, such systems are constantly and collectively developed (co-developed) further by a variety of individuals within the organization. By recognizing these varying types of actors (concerning their goals, technical expertise and language means) and their predominantly developed artifact type, one can distinguish two types of subsystems: technical subsystems wherein the development of the system behavior is conducted by software developers; and business subsystems dominated by end-users developing informational artifacts. So far, co-development structures within and between these subsystems are not well understood, especially the aspect that - potentially driven by appropriate measures such as the provision of domain-specific languages - co-development might shift between these subsystems. This paper presents an approach for characterizing the co-development of real-world BIS with respect to direct participation from different kinds of contributors. This multilayered approach allows us to analyze the co-development with programming languages, domain-specific languages and end-user tools. The approach is suited to assess the direct participation of individuals from different subsystems in the development of evolving BIS. We focus on the intersection of these subsystems, present appropriate metrics and a multilayered analysis scheme. Contributions to artifacts are analyzed using social network analysis to detect structural properties of continuous co-development. The application to Learn@WU, a real-world BIS, demonstrates how end-user enabling technologies have shifted the co-development effort of the system from a small group of developers to a several orders of magnitude larger group of contributors. We observed an increase of direct participation over time on both informational and executable artifacts, while the number of technical experts was more or less constant. Our approach may act as a trigger for the application and further development of rigorous instruments for assessing co-development of BIS. (authors' abstract)

World Wide Web (WWW) has become the greatest repository of information that man has ever assembled and it is continuously growing. WWW transformed itself into a generative environment that fosters innovation through the advance of technologies and a shift in people's perception of the Weband how they use it. The new WWW or Future Internet is that of an Internet of Services and Internet of Things.Naturally, a series of questions arise from this context: how do you filter things to create more value than you currently get? how do you aggregate things in an intelligent and easy way instead of doing it in your head? The world cannot be described unambiguously, so how can you allow users to deal with the world in their own way, based on their understanding? Levine in his book "Cluetrain manifesto" was arguing that markets are conversations so how can users be involved in the conversation? how can users be empowered with easy consumption of the services, information, things that they found around?However design and deployment of such software capable of direct interaction and empowerment of the end-user is still an issue. We have on one side users that have ideas, but do not have technical background and lack programming skills to do the development by themselves. On the other side, we have large amounts of data, resources and services that could be aggregated both in terms of data, but most important in terms of behavior to innovate and create new things.Our goal in this thesis is to address this lack of tools that are capable of direct interaction andempowerment of end-users, in a unified manner. Thus our main contribution in this thesis is the development of a holistic approach for web based systems that are user-centric and that integrate data, services and behavior available on the Web 2.0.