User Interface High-Order Architectural Models

Many user-interface design models (usually expressed through architectural designs), ex-pressed at different levels of abstraction, have been proposed in the literature. These models have been classified according to several criteria. The various design models are explicitly or implicitly derivable from a high order model which constitutes its specification. Existing classification schemes [21, 9, 16] do not reflect this derivation process. A new classification scheme for user-interface architectural designs is presented in this paper. This new classification scheme is based on derivations of designs. We analyze the initial specification and the high-order design models which correspond to models proposed in the literature at various levels of abstraction. The goal of the present study is to discuss issues such as relevant propertiesof “design families ” (related todesign trajectories), specification notations to be used as initial design steps, and “implementation biases ” induced by different design families. In particular, we put the Abstract Data View model [6] in perspective by reviewing its specification, presenting its high-order architecture, and comparing it with architectures at similar and lower levels of abstraction