CMF: A Coherent Modelling Framework for Task-Based User Interface Design

In this paper, a small case study is presented to illustrate our conceptual understanding of a task-based requirements process. We argue that sub-models as known in model-based design (e.g. task models, dialog models) support the reflection about an existing work situation at a conceptual level and allow a formal specification of requirements. However, it is also shown that the integration of complementary analysis approaches facilitates a richer consideration of social as well as technical aspects. An intertwined creation of models differing in their focus and in the degree of abstraction and formality supports a more effective requirements elicitation and elaboration. In addition, the paper discusses some crucial issues in task- and model-based design such as the 'myth' of generalised task models, the different roles of task and dialog models, or the influence of intentions on models of current situations. We hope to contribute to a further clarification of the problem space.

Specifying a dialog model from a task model is a frequent process in model-based approaches. However, as several task model formalisms and notations exist, specifying such a dialog model may depend on the task model used for specification. To relax this constraint and to produce usable dialog in the models, a first set of generic guidelines for specifying dialogs is introduced. These guidelines are considered generic in the sense that they can be applied for several types of task and dialog models. These guidelines are more pragmatic as they are primarily based on the temporal relations specified in the task model.

Task models are a very powerful artefact describing users' goals and users' activity and contain numerous information extremely useful for designing usable interactive application. Indeed, task models is one of the very few means for ensuring effectiveness of the application i.e. that the application allows users to reach their goals and perform their tasks. Despite those advantages, task models are usually perceived as a very expensive artefact to build that has to be thrown away as soon as the interactive application has been designed, i.e. right after the early stages of the design process are performed. However, tasks models can also be of great help for instance when used to support training material production, for training of operators and for providing tasks and goals oriented contextual help while the interactive application is being used ... This paper proposes a tool-supported framework for exploiting task models throughout the development process and even when the interactive application is deployed and used. To this end, we introduce a framework for connecting task models to an existing, executable, interactive application. The main contribution of the paper lies in the definition of a systematic correspondence between the user interface elements of the interactive application and the low level tasks in the task model. Depending on the fact that the code of the application is available or not, the fact that the application has been prepared at programming time for such integration or not, we propose different alternatives to perform such correspondence (in a tool-supported way). This task-application integration allows the exploitation of task models at run time bringing in the benefits listed above to any interactive application. The approach, the tools and the integration are presented on a case study of a Flight Control Unit (FCU) used in aircraft cockpits.

Task models are widely used in the field of user interface development. They represent a human actor’s performance or the co-operation of a group of people on or together with a system. For considerable time, it was an open problem in the field how to switch from the analyzing step of task analysis and modeling to the synthesizing step of user interface design. In the meantime, interesting approaches have shown up dealing with this problem and helping to bridge the gap between task modeling and user interface development. In this chapter, some of these approaches are discussed, together with recent concepts used to improve the usability of user interfaces based upon underlying task models.

Theoretical modeling framework for an unsaturated freezing soil

Kinetic modeling of the peroxide cross-linking of polymer/monomer blends: From a theoretical model framework to its application for a complex polymer/monomer dispersion system

This thesis describes a theoretical framework for modelling cooperative dialogue. The linguistic theory is a version of speech act theory adopted from Cohen and Levesque, in which dialogue utterances are generated and interpreted pragmatically in the context of a theory of rational interaction. The latter is expressed as explicitly and formally represented principles of rational agenthood and cooperative interaction. The focus is the development of strategic principles of multi-agent interaction as such a basis for cooperative dialogue. In contrast to the majority of existing work, these acknowledge the Positive role of conflict to multi-agent cooperation. and make no assumptions regarding the benevolence and sincerity of agents. The result is a framework wherein agents can resolve conflicts by negotiation. It is a preliminary stage to the future building of computer models of cooperative dialogue for both HCI and DAI, which will therefore be more widely and generally applicable than those currently in existence. The theory of conflict and cooperation is expressed in the different patterns of mental states which characterise multi-agent conflict, cooperation and indifference as three alternative postural relations. Agents can recognise and potentially create these. Dialogue actions are the strategic tools with which mental states can be manipulated, whilst acknowledging that agents are autonomous over their mental states; they have control over what they acquire and reveal in dialogue. Strategic principles of belief and goal adoption are described in terms of the relationships between autonomous agents' beliefs, goals, preferences, and interests, and the relation of these to action. Veracity, mendacity, concealing and revealing are defined as properties of acts. The role of all these elements in reasoning about dialogue action and conflict resolution, is tester in analyses of two example dialogues; a record of a real trade union negotiation and an extract from Othello by Shakespeare.

In this chapter, we argue that many aspects of human perception are best explained by adopting a modeling approach in which experimental subjects are assumed to possess a full generative probabilistic model of the task they are faced with, and that they use this model to make inferences about their environment and act optimally given the information available to them. We apply this generative modeling framework in two diverse settings—concurrent sensory andmotor adaptation, andmultisensory oddity detection—and show, in both cases, that the data are best described by a full generative modeling approach. Bayesian ideal-observer modeling is an elegant and successful normative approach to understanding human perception. One particular domain in which it has seen much success recently is that of understanding multisensory integration in human perception (see Chapter 1). Existing applications of this modeling approach have frequently focused on a simple special case where the ideal observer’s estimate of an unknown quantity in the environment is a reliability-weighted mean of the individual observed cues. This is all that is needed to understand a wide variety of interesting perceptual phenomena. We argue, however, that the Bayesian-observer approach can be more powerfully and generally applied by clear generative modeling of the perceptual task for each experiment. In other words, this assumes that people have access to a full generativemodel of their observations and that they use this model to make optimal decisions in performing the task. This systematic approach effectively provides a “model for modeling” that has some key advantages: (1) It provides the modeler with a clear framework for modeling new tasks beyond simply applying common normative models— such as linear combination—which may not apply for a new scenario and may fail to explain important aspects of human behavior; (2) Human performance can be measured against these clear “optimal”models such thatwe candraw conclusions about optimality of human perception or reveal architectural limitations of the human perceptual system, which cause it to deviate from optimality. For a particular perceptual task, the optimal solution requires inference in the true generative model of the task. Here, optimal is defined in the sense that the posterior probability over relevant unknowns in the environment is calculated. Any actions or decisions to bemade can then be taken

Model-based interface development environments typically involve the manipulation and the organization of multiple component models in order to develop one or many user interfaces corresponding to the models. In this context, the mapping problem poses the challenge of defining the elements of these models and to link them into an appropriate way that reflects design options. The task-dialog and task-presentation mapping problem investigates to what extent a dialog model and a presentation model can be derived from a task model and subsequently linked from it. Some preliminary results for solving this type of mapping problem at a high level of abstraction are provided and exemplified on some particular model representations. A task model for a single-user interactive application is formed with the ConcurTaskTrees notation. From the definition of its operators, a set of systematic rules for simultaneously deriving and linking elements for both dialog and presentation models are presented. These rules are organized into a decision tree presenting designers with design alternatives. To depict the models' elements that can be derived and linked from these rules, the Windows Transition graphical notation is exploited.

While task modeling and task-based design are entering into current practice in the design of interactive software applications, there is still a lack of tools supporting the development and analysis of task models. Such tools should provide developers with ways to represent tasks, including their attributes and objects and their temporal and semantic relationships, to easily create, analyze, and modify such representations and to simulate their dynamic behavior. In this paper, we present a tool, CTTE, that provides thorough support for developing and analyzing task models of cooperative applications, which can then be used to improve the design and evaluation of interactive software applications. We discuss how we have designed this environment and report on trials of its use.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the motivations of an agent in a service industry to honestly represent the quality of a service provider.Design/methodology/approachThe paper develops a theoretical modeling and derives implications from it, which are then tested using empirical data.FindingsThe main finding of the paper is that the agent's propensity to overstate the service provider's true quality level increases as the relative price of the service increases.Research limitations/implicationsThe testable implications are tested in the hotel industry. One could extend this to alternative services. It should be noted, however, that since the modeling framework is general, so too will be the implications that arise from it.Originality/valueThe theoretical development in the paper from which the implications arise, gives the results a strong foundation and lends some validity to the work. This is complemented by a unique data set that supplies information from the agent as well as the consumer regarding the same transaction. This offers a unique opportunity to study the two different points of view, and test some propositions regarding the degree to which the players understand each other.

Relevance. The intensification of the processes of economic differentiation of territories in the context of global turbulence actualizes the scientific discourse on the mechanisms of formation and overcoming of regional imbalances. The phenomenology of spatial inequality, determined by a complex of structural, institutional and market factors, acquires a special epistemological significance in the context of ensuring the sustainable development of the Russian economy. The imperfection of the existing methodological framework necessitates the development of new conceptual foundations for spatial and economic analysis. The purpose of the study is to develop a conceptual framework and a theoretical framework for dynamic modeling of regional imbalances based on a multi-paradigm approach. Objectives : conceptualization of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the analysis of territorial disparities; development of a multi-paradigm approach to the dynamic modeling of regional disparities; formation of a mathematical modeling apparatus reflecting the nonlinear dynamics of spatial inequality; empirical verification of the developed theoretical apparatus; formation of scientifically sound recommendations for the implementation of the results in the practice of regional management. Methodology. The methodological basis of the research is constituted by the synthesis of spatial-temporal, systemicstructural and institutional-evolutionary approaches that form the basis of a multi-paradigm research platform. The theoretical framework includes tools for nonlinear dynamics, complex systems theory, and spatial econometrics. Results. The conceptual foundations of dynamic modeling of regional imbalances based on the synthesis of spatial economics paradigms have been developed. A theoretical framework has been developed to identify the stochastic nature of the processes of territorial convergence and divergence in the Russian economy. The patterns of nonlinear interaction of endogenous and exogenous variables in the formation of spatial inequality are established. A multiparametric approach to predicting the dynamics of regional disparities under alternative scenarios for the implementation of the state spatial development policy is proposed. Conclusions. The results of the study indicate the relevance of the developed conceptual framework for explaining the mechanisms of formation of regional disparities in modern conditions. The revealed patterns of spatial dynamics of economic development create theoretical prerequisites for improving the methodology for developing regional development programs. The proposed theoretical framework allows for a comprehensive assessment of various instruments of government influence on the spatial proportions of economic development in conditions of increasing complexity and uncertainty of economic processes.

Psychometric testing and evaluation of user acceptance of an automatic lateral turning device for the prevention of pressure ulcers

This chapter reviews the discussion in science communication circles of models for public communication of science and technology (PCST). It questions the claim that there has been a large-scale shift from a ‘deficit model’ of communication to a ‘dialogue model’, and it demonstrates the survival of the deficit model along with the ambiguities of that model. Similar discussions in related fields of communication, including the critique of dialogue, are briefly sketched. Outlining the complex circumstances governing approaches to PCST, the author argues that communications models often perceived to be opposed can, in fact, coexist when the choices are made explicit. To aid this process, the author proposes an analytical framework of communication models based on deficit, dialogue and participation, including variations on each.

Task-oriented dialog (TOD) systems typically manage structured knowledge (e.g. ontologies and databases) to guide the goal-oriented conversations. However, they fall short of handling dialog turns grounded on unstructured knowledge (e.g. reviews and documents). In this paper, we formulate a task of modeling TOD grounded on both structured and unstructured knowledge. To address this task, we propose a TOD system with hybrid knowledge management, HyKnow. It extends the belief state to manage both structured and unstructured knowledge, and is the first end-to-end model that jointly optimizes dialog modeling grounded on these two kinds of knowledge. We conduct experiments on the modified version of MultiWOZ 2.1 dataset, where dialogs are grounded on hybrid knowledge. Experimental results show that HyKnow has strong end-to-end performance compared to existing TOD systems. It also outperforms the pipeline knowledge management schemes, with higher unstructured knowledge retrieval accuracy.