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Authors:
Calvary, G., Coutaz, J., and Thevenin, D.
Title: Supporting Context Changes for Plastic User
Interfaces: a Process and a
Mechanism
Conference: IHM-HCI
2001, September 10-14, 2001, Lille
(F)
Reference: Proceedings
of IHM-HCI 2001, A.
Blandford, J. Vanderdonckt, P. Gray Eds., BCS conference series, Springer Publ.,
pp. 349-363.
Abstract
Mobility coupled with the development of a
wide variety
of access devices has engendered new requirements for
HCI such as the ability of user interfaces to adapt to
different contexts of use. We define a context of use as
the set of values of variables that characterise the
computational device(s) used for interacting with the
system as well as the physical and social environment
where the interaction takes place. A user interface is
plastic if it is able to adapt to context changes while
preserving usability. In this paper, we present a process
and a software mechanism that support context changes
for plastic user interfaces. We propose to structure
adaptation as a three-step process: recognition of the
situation, computation of a reaction to cope with the
situation, and execution of the reaction. Reactions are
specified in an evolution model which, in turn, is
executed by a context supervisor. This supervisor is
notified of context changes by a software probe that
automatically detects deviations from the current
situation. When notified, the supervisor executes the
evolution model, and, when possible, adapts the user
interface to the new context of use.
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