Mobile apps have come a long way since they were first introduced a few years ago. Where sometimes people were frustrated by not having as much features, now people rely on them as much, or more than their desktop computer – even foregoing a personal computer. While an app can be developed by an amateur,…
There are several types of architecture involved in a web app. Some of these are found in desktop apps, some are not. Content Architecture – focuses on the definition of the overall hypermedia structure of the WebApp. Generally there are four main types of structures. Linear structures follow a set path that the user should…
Like with a desktop app, a web app’s quality can be measured in different categories such as: But they also have additional considerations: Design Goals When designing an app, you have lots of factors to consider. Most relate to the UI either directly, or indirectly. This will affect your programming design and complexity. Simplicity –…
A design pattern can be characterized as “a three-part rule which expresses a relation between a certain context, a problem, and a solution” [Ale79] For software design, context allows the reader to understand the environment in which the problem resides and what solution might be appropriate within that environment. A set of requirements, including limitations and constraints, acts as…
An application should be designed so that it anticipates the user’s next move. Especially on a mobile device so the user doesn’t have to do as much on a small screen. The interface should communicate the status of any activity initiated by the user. This is especially important since you may have some time between…
A software developer might have a different “mental image” of the software than the users which may be different than the stakeholders. However, since the user is the one who will be using it, shouldn’t they be the one who has the most consideration for the interface? This doesn’t necessarily mean talking them about what…
The user interface, or UI, is how a user interacts with an application. The application doesn’t matter if it’s a computer application, a mobile phone app, or even your microwave oven. The study of how people interact with computes/apps/etc is called Human Computer Interaction, or HCI. In his book on interface design, Theo Mandel [Man97]…
Component-based software engineering (CBSE) is a process that emphasizes the design and construction of computer-based systems using reusable software “components.” The intent of domain engineering is to identify, construct, catalog, and disseminate a set of software components that have applicability to existing and future software in a particular application domain. Unfortunately, the existence of reusable components does not…
