This paper addresses the methodology for achieving the user interface design reusability of a qualitative software system and effort minimization by applying the inference on the stored design documents. The pictorial design documents are stored in a special format in the form of keyword text [DGML tag based design]. The design document storage mechanism will expose the keywords per design stored. This methodology is having an inference engine. Inference mechanism search for the requirements and find the match for them in the available design repository. A match found will success in reusing it after checking the quality parameters of the found design module in the result set. DGML notations produces qualitative designs which helps in minimizing the efforts of software development life cycle.
A new industry practice emerged in quality software development which deals with not only developing a run away solution for a problem but to get a better solution which could be reused. Generally, we spend a lot of our time and efforts in developing solutions for difficult, time consuming and mission critical problems. One of these solution set components is the UI designs document [1] [2]. Design process takes maximum time and efforts and is never reused in the future.
Reusability is achieved up to some level in coding practices like OOPs, Component based developments, Active-X, technology where a piece of written code is reused after passing few checks for non discloser of the blueprints of the solution [4].
We propose that the root of reusability is there at the starting and bridging activities of the software development process that is design phase. This includes functional and user interaction design. We can consider the reusability at this level, such as UI design reusability [6] [14]. If a UI design is made reusable, we can achieve the reusability in the development phases because this coding phase is very much driven from the software design. This paper proposes a new approach in the context of the User interface design reusability. Reusable UI design methodology is of special concern with the effort minimization, which could be achieved by following our approach. This paper also discusses the notation of the design document storage for reusability.
Reusable UI design approach by inference is having the full impact of the strategic fitness in achieving the large and tough goals in small time and smartly. This approach will fit as getting a good domain solution in minimum efforts. A good review mechanism can also be imposed on the stored reusable UI design for assigning quality attributes.
Proposed approach eliminates the need for fresh efforts for UI design every time a solution is required. The UI design document having diagrams, images will be stored in textual format and every design stored will have a few keyword and properties [3][5]. Keyword submission per design facilitates the search against the requirement specifications and outcome of the result having the attribute tag of quality benchmark, like number of times the design is reused. The research also includes one tool, which helps in maintaining the central repository of the different design documents and inference mechanism on the stored design repository with in the organization.
The reusability of user interface design for a software system could be achieved by storing the graphical design documents in the form of text. The graphics-symbols of the design document can be represented in the form of text. Tools are available which allow the user to draw the user interface with diagrams. These tools however lack one aspect to store the design elements in the form of structured text as backend.
Our approach is to device some mechanism using which we can design the diagrams for user interface and represent them in the text format. So that when user creates one UI design and save it, it generates one text file also. The approach that we choose is to represent the text per design element is as a XML tag. So every design element will have a unique tag.
Initially the process start with making a new UI design document, which is XML, based. The system to create the UI design is having the collection of UI elements. All finite design elements have assigned names. User has to select and place these design elements while creating design document. When one UI design module gets completed, there will be one complete XML document associated with it. These UI design repository will be a collection of associated XML document per design as shown in following figure2. There will be a repository of designs after following this approach and every design is well defined in terms of XML tags. The text format of storing the design is having the predefined tags. Text format will be stored in XML notations. We say this as Design Markup Language and are having the tags for all knows design elements. When user picks one design element, its respective tag will be placed in its corresponding text file. When UI design complete for some scenario by following this approach, system will be having a complete representation in textual format in the form of tags.
The XML text file having the details of design figures is the basis of our research. The approach has many benefits. When pictorial representations are saved in text form, lots of possibilities are there which increase the overall development process [10] [12]. Reusability of design search with in the available UI design, automatic generation of design skeleton on the basis of requirement document and available design text keywords, auto generation of test case scenarios. Along with the design element tags, the XML-DGML file is having the information with the help of special tags (like ), which i
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