2.

Web Engineering Fundamentals

1. Introduction

2. Requirements Analysis

3. Web Modeling

4. Web Architectures

5. Web Accessibility

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.1

 Resources
 Book
 Kappel, G., Proll, B. Reich, S. & Retschitzegger, W.
(2006). Web Engineering, 1st ed. Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 04700-1554-3.

 Online material
 INFSCI 2955: Web Engineering
 Department of Information Science and
Telecommunications, University of Pittsburgh
 Website: http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~jgrady/

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.2

2.1 Introduction to Web
Engineering
 What is Web Engineering?
 “The application of systematic and quantifiable
approaches to cost-effective analysis, design,
implementation, testing, operation, and
maintenance of high-quality Web applications.” –
Kappel et al.

 Extends Software Engineering to Web

applications, but with Web-centric approaches.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.4

 Defining Web Applications
 A Web application is a system that utilizes W3C
standards & technologies to deliver Web-specific
resources to clients (typically) through a
browser.
 A strict definition that ensures software and UI
aspects of the Web are examined carefully

 Technology + interaction.
 Web site with no software components?
 Web services?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.5

 The Case for Web Engineering
 Application development on the Web remains
largely ad hoc.
 Spontaneous, one-time events
 Individual experience
 Little or no documentation for code/design

 Short-term savings lead to long-term problems in

operation, maintenance, usability, etc.

 Because Web apps are so interdependent, the

problem is compounded.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.6

 The Case for Web Engineering (cont.)
 Root Causes of poor design
 Development as an authoring activity
 Development is “easy”
 Techniques that should not be used are misapplied.
 Techniques that should be used are not.

 Particularly alarming given…

 Most projects are now Web-based
 More “mission-critical” apps moving to the Web

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.7

 The Case for Web Engineering (cont.)
 Top project pitfalls (Cutter, 2000)
 84% - Failure to meet business objectives
 79% - Project schedule delays
 63% - Budget overrun
 53% - Lack of functionality

 Web Engineering’s solution:

 Clearly defined goals & objectives
 Systematic, phased development
 Careful planning
 Iterative & continuous auditing of the entire process

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.8

 Categories of Web Applications

Ubiquitous Semantic
Web

Social Web
Collaborative
Complexity

Workflow
Based
Portal
Transactional
Oriented

Interactive

Doc-Centric

Development History
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.9
 Document-Centric Web sites
 Precursors to Web applications

 Static HTML documents

 Manual updates

 Pros
 Simple, stable, short response times

 Cons
 High management costs for frequent updates & large collections
 More prone to inconsistent/redundant info

 Example: static home pages

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.10

 Interactive & Transactional
 Come with the introduction of CGI and HTML forms

 Simple interactivity

 Dynamic page creation

 Web pages and links to other pages generated dynamically
based on user input

 Content updates -> Transactions

 Decentralized
 Database connectivity
 Increased complexity

 Examples: news sites, booking systems, online banking

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.11

 Workflow-Based Applications
 Designed to handle business processes across
departments, organizations & enterprises

 Business logic defines the structure

 The role of Web services

 Interoperability
 Loosely-coupled
 Standards-based

 Examples: B2B & e-Government

 High complexity; autonomous entities

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.12
 Collaborative & Social Web
 Unstructured, cooperative environments
 Support shared information workspaces to create, edit and
manage shared information

 Interpersonal communication is paramount

 Classic example: Wikis

 The Social Web

 Anonymity traditionally characterized WWW
 Moving towards communities of interest
 Examples: Blogs, collaborative filtering systems, social
bookmarking (e.g., del.icio.us)
 Integration with other forms of web applications (e..g,
NetFlix)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.13

 Portal-Oriented
 Single points-of-entry to heterogenous
information
 Yahoo!, AOL.com, portal.kfupm.edu.sa

 Specialized portals
 Business portals (e.g., employee intranet)
 Marketplace portals (horizontal & vertical)
 Community portals (targeted groups)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.14

 Ubiquitous
 Customized services delivered anywhere via
multiple devices

 HCI is critical
 Limitations of devices (screen size, bandwidth?)
 Context of use

 Still an emerging field; most devices have single

focus:
 Personalization
 Location-aware
 Multi-platform delivery

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.15

 Semantic Web
 Berners-Lee: Information on the Web should be
readable to machines, as well as humans.

 Using metadata and ontologies to facilitate

knowledge management across the WWW.

 Content syndication (RSS, Atom) promotes re-

use of knowledge

 Is the Semantic Web even possible?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.16

 Characteristics of Web Apps
 How do Web applications differ from traditional
applications?

 Or, another way, what Software Engineering

methods & techniques can be adapted to Web
Engineering?

 3 dimensions of the ISO/IEC 9126-1 standard

 Product
 Usage
 Development

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.17

 Characteristics - Product
 Product-related characteristics constitute the “building
blocks” of a Web application

 Content
 Document character & multimedia (# of dimensions?)
 Quality demands: current, exact, consistent, reliable

 Navigation Structure (Hypertext)

 Non-linearity
 Potential problems: Disorientation & cognitive overload

 User interface (Presentation)

 Aesthetics
 Self-explanation

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.18

 Characteristics - Usage
 Much greater diversity compared to traditional non-Web applications
 Users vary in numbers, cultural background, devices, h/w, s/w, location
etc

 Social Context (Users)

 Spontaneity - scalability
 Heterogeneous groups

 Technical Context (Network & Devices)

 Quality-of-Service
 Multi-platform delivery

 Natural Context (Place & Time)

 Globality
 Availability

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.19

 Characteristics - Development
 The Development Team
 Multidisciplinary – print publishing, s/w devt, marketing &
computing, art & technology
 Community (including Open Source)

 Technical Infrastructure
 Lack of control on the client side
 Immaturity

 Process
 Flexibility
 Parallelism

 Integration
 Internal – with existing legacy systems
 External – with Web services
 Integration issues: correct interaction, guaranteed QoS
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.20
2.2 Requirements
Engineering
 Overview
 Introduction to Requirements Engineering

 Fundamentals

 Specifics in Web Engineering

 Principles

 Adapting traditional Requirements Engineering

to Web applications

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.22

 Introduction
 Requirements Engineering (RE) – the principles,
methods, & tools for eliciting, describing, validating, and
managing project goals and needs.

 Given the complexity of Web apps, RE is a critical initial

stage, but often poorly executed.

 What are the consequences?

 Inadequate software architectures
 “Unforeseen” problems
 Budget overruns
 Production delays
 “That’s not what I asked for”
 Low user acceptance

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.23

 Why Define Requirements?
 The authors build their case:
 Bell & Thayer (1976) – Requirements don’t define
themselves.
 Boehm (1981) – Removal of mistakes post hoc is up
to 200 times more costly.
 The Standish Group (1994) – 30% of project fail
before completion & almost half do not meet
customer requirements
 Unclear objectives, unrealistic schedules & expectations,
poor user participation

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.24

 Fundamentals of RE - 1
 Identify and involve (if possible) the stakeholders
 Those that directly influence the requirements
 Customers, users, developers

 What are their expectations?

 May be misaligned or in conflict.
 May be too narrowly focused or unrealistic.

 Already, one can see RE as more of an art than

a science.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.25

 Fundamentals of RE - 2
 IEEE 601.12 definition of requirement:
 1) Solves a user’s problem
 2) Must be met or possessed by the system to satisfy
a formal agreement
 3) Documented representation of conditions in 1 and
2

 Keys to requirement definition:

 Negotiation
 Scenario-based discovery
 Clear definition of context and constraints

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.26

 Fundamentals of RE - 3
 Objectives, objectives, objectives
 Advertising
 Customer service
 Business transactions

 Audience, audience, audience

 The designer is not the audience
 Audience segmentation
 User interviews and testing

 What about the Competition?

 Other web sites
 Other forms of advertising and transactions

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.27

 Example: SIS Website

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.28

 Summary - RE Activities

Elicitation &
Negotiation

Management Documentation

Validation &
Verification

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.29

 Specifics in Web Engineering
 Is RE for the Web really that different than RE
for conventional software?

 Some would argue “no”, but many aspects of

Web applications suggest otherwise

 10 distinguishing characteristics
 Multidisciplinary
 Unavailability of stakeholders
 Rapidly changing requirements & constraints

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.30

 Specifics in Web Engineering - 2
 10 distinguishing characteristics (cont.)
 Unpredictable operational environment
 Integration of legacy systems
 Constrained by existing system
 Constrained by $$$
 Quality aspects
 User interface quality
 Content quality
 Developer inexperience
 Firm delivery dates

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.31

 Principles for RE
 Inspired by the win-win spiral model (Boehm, 1996)

Source: http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/Crosstalk/2001/12/boehm3.gif
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.32
 Principles for RE - 2
 Understanding the system context
 Web apps are always a component of a larger entity
 Why do we need the system?
 How will people use it?

 Involving the stakeholders

 Get all groups involved.
 Balance – one group’s gain should not come at the
expense of another.
 Repeat the process of identifying, understanding and
negotiating.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.33

 Principles for RE - 3
 Iteratively define requirements
 Requirements need to be consistent with other
system aspects (UI, content, test cases)
 Start with key requirements at a high level; basis
for:
 Feasible architectures
 Key system use cases
 Initial plans for the project
 As the project progresses, requirements can
become more concrete.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.34

 Principles for RE - 4
 Focusing on the System Architecture
 The “solution space” – existing technologies &
legacy systems – defines the “problem space.”
 The architecture must be considered in the
elicitation stage.
 Refine requirements and architecture iteratively
with increasing level of detail.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.35

 Principles for RE - 5
 Risk Orientation
 Risk management is at the heart of the analysis
process.
 What are the greatest risks?
 Integration issues w/ legacy systems
 Expected vs. actual system quality
 Inexperience of developers
 How to mitigate risks?
 Prototyping (avoid IKIWISI)
 Show changes to customer iteratively
 Integrate existing systems sooner than later

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.36

 Adapting RE to Web Applications
 There isn’t one single “right way” to RE among
the many methods, techniques, tools, etc.
available.

 For your Web application project, ask the

following questions:
 What are the critical requirements?
 How should requirements be documented?
 What tools should be use, if any?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.37

 Adapting – Requirement Types

 Taxonomies (e.g. IEEE 830) exist that

describe functional and non-functional
requirements.
 Functional – describes the capability’s purpose
(e.g., the ability to transfer money between user
accounts.)
 Non-functional – describes the capability’s
properties (e.g., the system can handle 1,000
concurrent users)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.38

 Adapting – Requirement Types

 Non-functional requirement types

 Content
 Quality (6 Types)
 Functionality
 Reliability
 Usability
 Efficiency
 Maintainability
 Portability

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.39

 Adapting – Requirement Types

 Non-functional requirement types

(continued)
 System Environment
 User Interface
 Self-explanatory & intuitive
 Usage-centered design
 Evolution
 Project Constraints

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.40

 Adapting – Documentation

 4 categories of notation
 Stories – Plain-language scenarios;
understandable to non-technical persons.
 Itemized Requirements – Plain-language lists of
requirements
 Formatted Requirements – Accurately-defined,
but allow for plain-language descriptions
 Ex. Use case scenarios in UML
 Formal Specifications – Expressed in formal
syntax & semantics; rarely used in Web
applications.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.41

 Adapting – Documentation

 So, what’s best for a Web development

project?
 Low to medium accuracy is suitable for Web
apps; formal specifications very rarely required.
 Keep elicitation and management of
requirements low.
 Scalability is (most likely) important.
 Formatted requirements (i.e. use cases) are
heavily used.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.42

 Adapting – Tools

 Requirements Elicitation
 EasyWinWin (the author’s software)
 Book: Getting to Yes: Negotiating an Agreement
Without Giving in by Fisher, Ury, Patton (1994)

 Requirements Validation
 Online feedback (Web surveys)

 Requirements Management
 Database system – traceability, versioning

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.43

 Challenges with Stakeholders

 McConnell (1996)
 Users don’t know what they want.
 Lack of commitment.
 Ever-expanding requirements.
 Communication delays.
 Users don’t take part in reviews.
 Users don’t understand the technology.
 Users don’t understand the process.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.44

 Challenges with Developers

 Users and engineers/developers speak

different “languages”.

 The tendency to “shoe-horn” the

requirements into an existing model
 Saves time for developers, but results may not
meet user’s needs.

 Engineers & developers are also asked to

do RE, but sometimes lack people skills and
domain knowledge
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.45
2.3 Modeling Web
Application
 Summary – Web Engineering

Requirements
Analysis

Maintenance Design

Testing Implementation

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.47

 Why Create Models?
 Define an abstract view of a real-world entity
 Finding & discovering objects/concepts in a domain
 Assigning responsibilities to objects

 Tool of thought
 Reduce complexity
 Document design decisions

 Means of communication

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.48

 Web Modeling

 Modeling static & dynamic aspects of

content, hypertext, and presentation.

 We focus on object-oriented analysis &

design
 Analysis: Finding & discovering objects/ concepts
in a domain
 Design: Defining software objects & how they
interact to fulfill requirements.

 Key skill: Assigning responsibilities to

objects
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.49
 Assigning Responsibilities

 Responsibilities are obligations or specific

behaviors related to its role.

 What does an object do?

 Doing something itself
 Pass actions (messages) to other objects
 Controlling & coordinating the activities in other objects

 What does an object know?

 Private, encapsulated data
 Its related objects
 Items it can derive or calculate
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.50
 Software Application Modeling
Levels

User interface

Application Logic

Phases
Structure Analysis Design Implementation

Behavior

Aspects
 Levels – the “how” & “what” of an application

 Aspects – objects, attributes, and relationships; function & processes

 Phases – Development cycle

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.51

 Unified Modeling Language (UML)
 “The Unified Modeling Language is a visual
language for specifying and documenting the
artifacts of systems.” [OMG03a]

 Language of choice (and ISO standard) for

diagramming notation in OO development.
 Structural – Class diagrams
 Behavioral – Use Case diagrams, State machine
diagrams

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.52

 Web Application Modeling
Levels
Presentation
Hypertext
Customization
Content

Phases
Structure Analysis Design Implementation

Behavior

Aspects
 Levels – Information, node/link structure, UI & page layout separate.

 Aspects – Same as Software Applications

 Phases – Approach depends upon type of application

 Customization – Context information

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.53

 Web Application Modeling

 For Web-centric modeling, we will employ

the UML Web Engineering (UWE) notation.
 http://www.pst.ifi.lmu.de/projekte/uwe/
 Relies on Object Management Group (OMG)
standards – (i.e., UML-compliant)
 Comprehensive modeling tool
 Supports semi-automatic generation of code

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.54

 Requirements Modeling
 Serves as a bridge between Requirements &
Design phases

 Uses cases – functional requirements written as

a collection of related success & failure
scenarios.
 Scenario – a sequence of actions & interactions
between actors and a system.

 Preferred means of modeling requirements

 Written descriptions are easy to understand
 Emphasize the users goals and perspective

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.55

 Use Cases

 Defining valid use cases:

 The Boss Test – measurable value
 The EBP Test – one person, one place, one time
 The Size Test – more than one step

 Which is a valid use case?

 Negotiate a Supplier Contract
 Handle Returns
 Log In
 Move Piece on Game Board

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.56

 Use Cases
 Critical components
 Use Case Name – starts with a verb
 Level – “user-goal” or “subfunction”
 Primary Actor – the user whose goal is fulfilled
 Stakeholders & Interests – Who cares, and what do
they want?
 Preconditions – What must be true at the start
 Success Guarantee – defines the successful
completion of the use case for all stakeholders

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.57

 Use Case – Example 1
 Use Case 1: Create User

 Scope: University or business network

 Level: user goal

 Primary Actor: user (system administrator)

 Stakeholders and Interests:

 System Administrator: Wants control over users’ access to system resources.
 New User: Wants access to system resources for communication, business,
and research.
 Organization: Wants security and controlled access of organization resources,
data, intellectual property; wants employees/students to have appropriate
system access to fulfill the goals of the organization.

 Preconditions: User is identified, authenticated, and has opened

administration tool

 Success Guarantee: New user account is created and saved. Username

and password grant the new user access to network.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.58

 Use Case – Example 1 [cont.]
 Main Success Scenario:
1. System requests input for username & password
2. User enters username & password
3. System requests other identifiable user information (ex.
real name, SSN#, address)
4. User enters other identifiable user information
5. System verifies username & password
6. System stores new user information
7. System displays success message
8. System presents user options

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.59

 Use Case Guidelines
 Use shorts sentences

 Delete “noise” words

 NO : “The System authenticates…”
 YES: “System authenticates…”

 Avoid technology-specific terms (initially, at

least)
 NO : “Cashier swipes Product ID across scanner.”
 YES: “Cashier enters Product ID.”

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.60

 Use Case Diagrams
 Provide a graphical overview of a system’s use
cases, its external actors, and their relationships

 Use case diagrams are NOT requirements!

 Can be used for functional & hypertext

requirements
 Same model (UWE/authors’ approach)
 Use “<<navigation>>” annotation to distinguish
hypertext from functional

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.61

 Use Case Diagram - Example
 Conference Paper Submission System

Source: Web
Engineering –
Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.62

 Content Modeling
 Purpose: To model the information requirements
of a Web application
 Diagramming the structural (i.e., information objects)
& behavioral aspects of the information.
 NOT concerned with navigation.

 Primary Models
 Class diagrams – enough for static applications.
 State machine diagrams – captures dynamic aspects

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.63

 Class Diagram – Example 1
 Conference Paper Submission System

Source: Web
Engineering –
Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.64

 Class Diagrams

 Notations

Class Name

Multiplicity
Attributes

Operations

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.65
 Class Diagrams
 Notations (continued)

Composition Derived Attribute Value

Invariant

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.66
 Class Diagram – Example 2
 Online Library Application

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.67
 State Machine Diagrams
 For dynamic Web applications, they depict
important states and events of objects, and how
objects behave in response to an event ( transitions)

 Show the life-cycle of an object.

 Used only for state-dependent objects

 For pure UML modeling, can be very useful for

hypertext models (next section).

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.68

 State Machine Diagram - Example

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.69

 Hypertext Modeling
 Purpose: To model the navigation paths available to
users.

 Artifacts
 Hypertext Structure Model – navigating among classes
 Access Model – UML-compliant site map

 Focuses on the structure of the hypertext & access

elements.

 Use “<<navigation class>>” annotation to distinguish

from content classes.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.70

 Hypertext Structure Model
 Conference Paper Submission System

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.71

 Link Classification Types
 UWE
 Navigation vs. Process vs. External

 HDM
 Structural vs. Perspective vs. Application

 WebML
 Contextual vs. Non-contextual
 Intra-page vs. Inter-page

 OO-H
 I, T, R, X, S-links
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.72
 Access Model
 Hypertext structure models describe
navigation, but not orientation.

 Access models describe both through

Navigation patterns, used to consistently
describe conventional elements.
 <<index>> (list)
 <<guided-tour>> (sequential links)
 <<menu>>, <<query>>

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.73

 Access Model - Example

Source: Web
Engineering –
Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.74

 Presentation Modeling

 Purpose: To model the look & feel of the Web

application at the page level.

 The design should aim for simplicity and self-

explanation.

 Describes presentation structure:

 Composition & design of each page
 Identify recurring elements (headers/footers)

 Describes presentation behavior:

 Elements => Events

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.75

 Levels of Presentation Models

 Presentation Page – “root” element;

equivalent to a page container.

 Presentation Unit
 A fragment of the page logically defined by
grouping related elements.
 Represents a hypertext model node

 Presentation Element
 A unit’s (node’s) informational components
 Text, images, buttons, fields

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.76

 Composition Model - Example
 Paper and Author Page Templates

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.77

 Sequence Diagrams

 Purpose: Depicts sequential interactions

(i.e., the flow of logic) between objects in an
application over time.
 What messages, what order, & to whom.
 Ex.: Object A calls method of Object B
 Ex.: Object B passes method call from Object A
to Object C.

 Result: Dynamic system interactions

diagrammed in a “fence” format.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.78

 Sequence Diagram - Notation

Object Instance

Lifeline

Focus of Control

Synchronous
Message

Destroy Object

Source: Wikipedia – Sequence Diagram

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.79
 Sequence Diagram – Example 1

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.80

 Sequence Diagram – Example 2

Source: Web Engineering – Kappel et al.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.81

 Modeling Methods

 We’ve primarily discussed Object-Oriented

Modeling (e.g., UML), but there are other
methodologies:
 Data-Oriented (Hera, WebML)
 Hypertext-Oriented (HDM)
 Software-Oriented (WAE)

 Choosing a method depends on system

purpose, focus, and requirements

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.82

2.4 Web Architectures
 Overview
 Architecture defined

 Developing architectures

 Types of architectures

 Generic Web Architecture

 Layered-aspect architectures

 Data-aspect architectures

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.84

 Architecture Defined
 Define “software architecture”
 http://www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/definitions.html
 “Software architecture is the set of design decisions
which, if made incorrectly, may cause your project to be
cancelled.” – Eoin Woods

 Authors focus on 5 key attributes of software

architectures
 Structure, Elements, Relationships
 Analysis => Implementation
 Multiple viewpoints (conceptual, runtime, process &
implementation)
 Understandable
 Framework for flexibility
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.85
 Developing Architectures
 Influences on Architectures

Functional Requirements
•Clients
•Users
•Other Stakeholders

Architecture
Experience with
•Existing Architecture
•Patterns
•Project Management
•Other?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.86

 Developing Architectures
 Influences on Architectures (continued)

Quality considerations with

•Performance
•Scalability
•Reusability
•Other?
Architecture
Technical Aspects
•Operating System
•Middleware
•Legacy Systems
•Other?
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.87
 Client/Server (2-Layer)

Client

Client

Server

Web/App Server Services

Database Dynamic HTML

Static HTML

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.88

 N-Layer Architectures
Client

Firewall

Proxy

Presentation Layer
Web Server

Business Layer
Application Server Backend
(Business Logic, Connectors,
(Legacy Application,
Personalization, Data Access)
Enterprise Info System)

Data Layer
DBMS B2B

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.89

 Why an N-Layer Architecture?

 Separating services in business layer

promotes re-use different applications
 Loose-coupling – changes reduce impact on
overall system.
 More maintainable (in terms of code)
 More extensible (modular)

 Trade-offs
 Needless complexity
 More points of failure

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.90

 More on Proxies

 Originally for caching data

 Can also server other roles:

 Link Proxy
 Persistent URL’s – maps the URL the client sees to the
actual URL.
 AJAX – allows data from a 2nd server to be accessed via a
client script.
 History Proxy
 HTTP is stateless - navigation history cannot be shared
across multiple websites.
 Multiple companies can access a server-side cookie (e.g.
DoubleClick)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.91

 Integration Architectures
 Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

 Web Services

 Portals/Portlets

 Challenges/Pitfalls
 Cannot separate logic & data in legacy systems
 Incompatible schemes
 Poor documentation
 Measuring performance/scalability

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.92

 Data-Aspect Architectures
 Data can be grouped into either of 3
architectural categories: Application

1. Structured data of the kind stored in DBs

2. Documents of the kind stored in document
management systems
3. Multimedia data of the kind stored in media Driver Manager
servers

 Structured data (JDBC/ODBC) Driver

 Accessed either directly via a web
extension (for 2-tier) or over app server (for
n-tier).
 Since DB technology are highly mature, Database
they are easy to integrate
 Easy to implement
 APIs are available to access DBs (e.g.,
JDBC, ODBC)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.93

 Data-Aspect Architectures
 Web Document Management

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.94

 Data-Aspect Architectures

 Web Multimedia Management: Point-to-point

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.95

2.5 Web Accessibility
 Overview
 The Case for Usability

 Defining Web Usability

 General Design Guidelines

 Usability Engineering

 Web Accessibility in Depth

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.97

 Why is Usability Important?
 “Mission critical” Web applications

 Poor design leads to lost time, productivity

 Your website speaks for your organization

 Customers have choices
 Easy come, easy go

 Diverse contexts
 Proliferation of web-enabled devices
 Increasing adoption by special needs groups – ex.
seniors
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.98
 Top 7 Gripes
 Contact information – address or phone number is buried

 Search function is not visible or unclear as to functionality

 No easy way to get back to critical points

 Pages that should load fast don’t (e.g. Main page or key
link page)

 Slow page loads are not incremental

 “What’s new” is old

 Back button requires a repost of data

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.99

 Example: SIS Website

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.100

 Usability Defined
 ISO/IEC standard definition (1998):
 “[T]he extent to which a product can be used by specified
users within a specified usage context to achieve
specified goals effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily.”

 Usability engineering is an ongoing, but critical

process
 Define user and task models
 Iteratively test and reevaluate
 User-based vs. expert methods

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.101

 Defining Usability in Web Apps
 Traditional software usability specifics do not
necessarily carry over to the Web:
 People use your application immediately.
 No manual or trainers
 No salespeople

 How to categorize users?

 First-time or returning?
 Expert or novice?
 Broadband or dial-up?
 Desktop or mobile?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.102

 Human Information Processing

 Human cognition places a critical role in user

interface design.
 Perception
 Positioning, grouping, arranging
 Perceiving shapes and relationships
 Memory
 Limitations of working memory
 Chunking, 7 + 2 (Miller)
 Attention
 Focusing on one aspect
 Movement, color schemes

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.103

 General Design Guidelines
 Design guidelines represent best practices

 OK for “general” users

 Normal cognitive ability
 Normal audiovisual abilities

 Some guidelines may be inappropriate for

audience members with special needs.
 Ex. Navigation elements for schizophrenics

 More rigorous usability engineering techniques

should be employed (later in lecture.)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.104

 Guidelines – Response Times
 As response times increase, user satisfaction decreases
 Anything greater than 3 seconds, and the user becomes aware
she’s waiting
 After 10 seconds, user gives up

 Optimize, or minimize graphics

 Consider breaking up large pages.

 <img> - use “width” & “height” attributes

 Don’t forget your dial-up audience!

 Home page size should be < 50Kb
 Provide warnings (MPG – 2.5Mb)
 http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/wso.php

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.105

 Guidelines – Efficiency
 Minimize distance between clickable elements
(while keeping effective sizing)

 Avoid frequent changes between mice and

keyboards

 Tab-friendly for text-based browsers

 Minimize clicks to accomplish tasks (rule of

thumb: no more than 4 clicks)

 Not so good: http://www.brown.edu

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.106
 Guidelines – Colors
 Colors have different meaning depending on your
audience
 Cultural differences
 Domain-specific meanings
 Warm vs. cool colors

 Minimize the number of colors

 Avoid extreme hues, highly saturated colors

 How does your site look on a CRT? LCD?

 Supplement colors with other visual aids for those with

limited color vision.
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.107
 Guidelines – Text Layout
 Screen vs. Paper

 Consider different window sizes

 Avoid multiple columns
 Avoid fixed width

 Readability
 Sans-serif for screen, serif for print
 Avoid patterns, low-contrast background
 Short paragraphs

 Allow for user-selected font-sizes

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.108
 Guidelines – Page Structure
 Display considerations

 Use relative positioning over absolute.

 Vertical scrolling is fine; horizontal scrolling is

NOT.

 Important elements should ALWAYS be visible.

 Make page print-friendly or provide alternative

style and print button.

 Not-so-good: http//www.arngren.net
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.109
 Guidelines – Navigation
 Provide your user with a mental model of the site
ASAP.
 Intuitive navigation elements
 Site map
 Breadcrumbs

 Pulldown menus?
 Pros: Efficient use of space
 Cons: Key information is hidden

 Not-so-good: Brown Univ. (circa 2005)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.110

 Guidelines – Multicultural
 Location is typically not a constraint on the Web.

 “Lowest common denominator” applies:

 Avoid over-expressive colors
 Symbols
 Language
 Information representation (date/time formats)

 Present form elements consistently

 Self-selection?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.111

 Guidelines – Establishing Trust
 Loyalty is fleeting, but instilling confidence during
a transaction is highly critical

 Ways to build trust:

 About us
 Easy-to-access Contact Information
 Interaction mechanisms (FAQ, chat rooms)
 Security & privacy policies
 Exchange and warranty policies
 Customer relations management

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.112

 Guidelines – Animations & Icons
 Remember human attention – animations are typically
distracting
 Draw attention to an important function
 Explain something

 Iconography should be used to support navigation

understanding
 Map to commonly-known metaphors
 Use redundant text and “alt” text!
 Not appropriate for (some) cognitive-impaired users

 Not-so-good: http://www.globalaigs.org/

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.113

 Guidelines – Consistency
 Consistency keeps learning to a minimum; users
don’t want to have to think!

 Identity can be set by consistent components

 Header: home, logo, navigation, search, help
 Footer: author, modification, contact

 Consistent design helps users avoid getting lost,

especially when jumping to different sub-units of
an organization.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.114

 Usability Engineering
 Consists of 4 phases that are essentially parallel
to the Web Engineering process
 Requirements Analysis
 Design
 Implementation
 Operation

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.115

 User-Centered vs. Usage-Centered

Phase Focal Points

User-Centered Usage-Centered

(Traditional) (Web)
Requirements Meetings, interviews, Competitive analysis;
focus groups
Task analysis & models

Design & User requirements Models

Implementation Direct user participation Inspection & remote

testing

Operation Training, evaluation of Log file analysis; server

help-desk logs stats; user feedback
analysis

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.116

 Requirements Analysis

 Systems Analyst & Usability Expert take the

lead:
 Competitive Analysis
 Define qualitative/quantitative goals
 Information, Entertainment, Exchange (Siegel)
 Make them concrete and testable!
 User-centered: build user profiles
 Usage-centered
 Task analysis
 Ease-of-use or Ease-of-learning?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.117

 Interaction and Design
 Initially, the Interface Designer builds a
conceptual model
 Based on core use cases
 Shows the basic structure

 Getting feedback from potential users

 Storyboards & Paper Mock-ups
 Card-sorting (Navigation)

 Usability expert provides input after this first

round.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.118

 Interaction and Design
 Designer and coders can then elaborate on the details

 Additional user testing:

 Prototypes – exhibit some functionality
 Usability Tests – real context, real tasks.

 Remote usability testing

 Sample of representative users
 Client-Logging software
 Web-cams if possible
 Better external validity & lower costs(?)

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.119

 Coding and Post-Deployment
 Usability Expert assumes the role of the Quality
Assurance manager.
 Consistency?
 Observed guidelines & standards?
 Adhered to (current) requirements?

 Bring same users back in for testing, if possible.

 Document, document, document!

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.120

 More on Web Accessibility
 People with disabilities are adopting the Web in greater
numbers.

 Tim Berners-Lee stressed universal access to the Web

as essential.

 20% of the world’s population have disabilities in at least

one of the senses.

 Key take-aways:
 Designing for special needs doesn’t necessarily require
reinventing your application.
 Doing so can also help “general” users

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.121

 Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
(WCAG, 1999) published by the W3C’s WAI

 3 Priorities
 1) Must
 2) Should
 3) May

 Defines Groups

 WCAG 2.0?

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.122

 Special Needs Groups
 WAI identifies the following special needs
groups:
 Visual
 Hearing
 Physical (Motor)
 Speech
 Cognitive
 Age-related

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.123

 Visual Considerations
 High-contrast color schemes

 Large font sizes; ability to change fonts

 Use alt attributes!

 <label-for> tags in forms

 Avoid frames

 Access key attributes, and rapid tabbing

 Many software packages for text-to-speech

 Some integrate with browsers
 OK Firefox plug-in: FireVox
 Good example: http://www.afb.org

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.124

 Aural Considerations
 Captioning audio and video
 Synchronized Multimedia Integration (SMIL)
 Good QuickTime, RealAudio Support
 W3C standard

 Complement text with simple images

 Clear, simple language

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.125

 Physical (Motor) Considerations
 May require specialized hardware
 Mice
 Keyboards
 Voice Recognition

 Avoid elements that require time-dependent

responses or precise mouse movements.

 Access key attributes

 Consistent tab ordering in forms.

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.126

 Cognitive Considerations
 Most neglected of the groups
 Little research in terms of Web usability
 “Reinvent the wheel” mentality

 Typically have trouble dealing with abstractions

– keep things concrete

 Still a relatively new research field

 Approaches may vary.
 No distracting elements
 Emphasis on consistent navigation
 High-contrast; large font sizes

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.127

 Helpful Tools & Resources
 Development
 Firefox Developer Toolbar (
http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/)

 Testing
 http://webxact.watchfire.com (Bobby)
 http://www.webaim.org (WAVE tool)

 Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

 http://www.section508.gov

SWE 444: Internet & Web Application Development 2.128