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Universal Access in the Information Society

, Volume 14, Issue 2, pp 169–186 | Cite as

On the transferability of a meta-design model supporting end-user development

  • Carmelo Ardito
  • Paolo Buono
  • Maria Francesca Costabile
  • Rosa Lanzilotti
  • Antonio Piccinno
  • Li Zhu
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Abstract

The availability of different methods (and models) that support the design and evaluation of interactive systems raises a question about the transferability of such methods between application sectors and domains. The transferability refers to the selection and application of a method in a development context, qualifying it for the interactive system in hand. The transferability process should help to identify the main features of the new contexts of use, also taking into account that the system to be developed has to ensure universal access. Moreover, it should allow designers to capitalize on previous development experiences in a systematic way. In order to analyze some of the many challenges determined by the transfer process, this paper reports experiences of transferring a meta-design model, whose aim is to support the design of systems that enable people to perform end-user development activities. The model is further developed when applied in another application domain. A meta-design model can be used in a novel context supporting the design of systems for users performing development activities. Based on the reported experiences on active people involvement, hints for the transferability of any model are provided. People can actively contribute to system design, development and evolution overtime using the novel approach.

Keywords

End-user development Meta-design Design model Environments for shaping software 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the EU through COST Action IC0904 “TwinTide,” by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) under grant VINCENTE and by Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) under grant LOGIN. The work of Li Zhu was supported by the Initial Training Network “Marie Curie Actions,” funded by the FP 7—People Programme with reference PITN-GA-2008-215446 entitled “DESIRE: Creative Design for Innovation in Science and Technology”.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Carmelo Ardito
    • 1
  • Paolo Buono
    • 1
  • Maria Francesca Costabile
    • 1
  • Rosa Lanzilotti
    • 1
  • Antonio Piccinno
    • 1
  • Li Zhu
    • 2
  1. 1.Dipartimento di InformaticaUniversità di Bari Aldo MoroBariItaly
  2. 2.EarlymorningMilanItaly

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