Architectural Design Guidance

Dr Karthikeyan P
Associate Professor, SITE
1. Guidance for User-Interface Architecture
1.1. Design Space & Rules
1.1.1. The Utility of Codified Knowledge
1.1.2. The Notion of Design Space
1.2. A Design space for User Interface Architecture
1.2.1. A Basic Structural Model
1.2.2. Sample functional Dimensions
1.2.3. Sample Structural Dimensions
1.3. Design Rules for User-Interface Architecture
1.3.1. Sample Rules
1.4. Applying the Design Space
1.5. A Validation Experiment
1.6. How the Design Space was prepared
 1.1. Design Spaces and Rules
Alternate for system designer by constructing a design
space.
Formulate design rules that indicates good and bad
combination of choices
For s/w engineers – day –to-day practice
Need not to be perfect or best possible.
So the rules should be complete, reliable .
 1.1.2. The Utility of Codified Knowledge
 Software design knowledge in a useful form.
 Developing vocabulary of well-understood , reusable
design concepts and patterns.
 Benefits of Vocabulary : aids in creating design, helps to
understand or predicting the properties of a design by
offering a context for the creation and application of
knowledge, reduces the effort needed to understand another
person’s design by reducing the number of new concepts to
be learned.
1.1.2 The Notion of a Design Space
 1.2. A Design space for User Interface Architecture
 User Interface Management systems(UIMS), graphic
packages, UI tool kits, window managers, stand alone
applns.,
 U I into 3 components:
1.2.1. Basic Structural Model:
1. An application specific component : codes
2. A shared user interface: codes and I/O devices specific
3. A device-dependent component: specific code to particular
I/O devices
 Device Shared user Application
Dependent interface specific
Component component component

Device Interface Application Interface

 1.2.2. Sample Functional Dimensions

 Functional Dimensions fall into 3 categories

1. External requirements: applications, users, I/O devices,

constraints

2. Basic Interactive behavior: key decisions about UI

behavior which influence internal structure.

3. Practical considerations: covers development cost

considerations , adaptability of the system

External requirements
3 alternatives:

No external events, Process events while waiting for input,

External events preempt user commands.
3 levels of user customizability:

High : add, redefine commands

Medium : modify but without affecting UI

Low: no user customizability is required.

User-interface adaptability across devices depends on the expected

range of I/O devices .

Dimension indicates the extent of change in user interface behavior

when changing I/O devices
None, Local Behavior changes, Global behavior changes,
Application semantics changes, Computer system organization,
Uniprocessing, Multiprocessing, Distributed processing
 Basic Interactive Behavior
 Basic interface class identifies the basic kind of interaction supported

by the user-interface system.

Menu selection: Alternatives.

Form Filling: Entry of values

Command Language: Symbolic language, procedure definition

Natural language: Human language-English, Resolution to

ambiguous input.

Direct Manipulation: Graphs manipulation, Incremental

manipulation
 Practical Consideration

Application portability across user interface styles….

3 level degrees to which application-specific code is

insulated from user interface style changes.

High: Portable across significantly different styles

Medium: Independent of minor variations

Low: User interface variability is not a concern, or

application changes are acceptable when modifying the
user interface
Design Rules for User interface Architecture
( Functional to structural dimensions)
 Event Handling – Preemptive, Non Preemptive control thread
mechanism – Response time
 User customizability

 User interface adaptability – user interface code or application code

 Event based communication( Distributed system) or state based

communication (Shared memory).

 Direct manipulation – no form filling and menus.

Extensible managers and toolkits are favored.

 Hybrid communication – is normally tuned to particular communication

patterns, which may change when the user-interface style changes.

 Design Rules for User interface Architecture
(Interconnecting structural dimensions)

Choice of notations

Implicit representation is usually sufficient

Toolkit system include implicit and internal declarative

notations
Interaction managers of all types use external and/or internal

declarative notations.
Extensible interaction managers rely heavily on procedural

notations, particularly internal procedural notation, since

customization is often done by supplying procedures