1 End User Software Engineering Mary Shaw Carnegie Mellon University

2 EUSE goes beyond EUP EUP includes programming-like activities, such as programming, debugging, tailoring via parameters, simple scripting EUSE goes beyond this … Design and composition of systems from elements Evolution, development, maintenance Deliberate process for creating software Expressiveness and understandability Sufficient dependability for current need Concern for system properties – usability, dependability, security, privacy Note the process tension between opportunisim and systematic planning

3 EUs are not SEs EUs do not have rich and robust mental models of their computing systems they fail to do backups, misunderstand storage models, execute malware, and innocently engage in other risky behavior EUSE is not fixing the users EUSE must be about developing ways for EUs themselves to address traditional SE concerns

4 Papers that addressed (some of) these issues Brandt &al, Opportunistic Programming Costabile &al, End Users as Unwitting Developers Scaffidi &al, Topes for Validating and Reformatting Data Stoitsev &al, EUD for Enterprise Process / Info Mgt Wong &al, Patterns in Mashups Umarji &al, Teaching SE to End-users Coutaz, EUP and Intrinsic Complexity of … Shani &al, SW Design / UML / Domain Specific Lang Doerner &al, EUD: Challenges in SOA Sestoft, Function Spreadsheets Praehofer, EUP Environments in Automation Domain El-Gayyar, User-oriented Web Services Composition Brandt Constabile Scaffidi Sestoft Praehofer El-Geyyar Coutaz Shani Doerner Stoitsev Wong Umarji

5 Composition of systems from elements Models for composition of elements Use patterns to guide mashups [Wong] Managing service compositions with many component proprietors [Coutaz] Package new capability as plugins or extensions for existing systems [Scaffidi, Stoitsev, Sestoff] Finding resources Provide hierarchy of repositories from personal to local to global [Scaffidi] Finding services [Doerner] Scaffidi Sestoft Coutaz Doerner Stoitsev Wong

6 Models for composition of elements Wong, Patterns in Mashups Mashups combine information from multiple web sites in new ways Survey found several types: aggregation; alternate UI or specialized use; personalization; focused view of data; real-time monitoring Large comparative table shows differences Coutaz, EUP and Intrinsic Complexity of … Model based on molecular chemistry shows richness of mixed physical-digital network artifacts elements are digital or physical atoms composition is based on, e.g., valence and affinity Proposal: Base composition of services on this model Coutaz Wong

7 Packaging new capability as plug-ins, etc Scaffidi &al, Topes to Validate, Reformat Data New technique for moving data among applications Integrates technique with existing applications by packaging it as plugins of various kinds Stoitsev &al, EUD for Enterprise Proc / Info New technique for EU tailoring of process models Represented as hierarchical to-do lists, implemented as extensions to Outlook Sestoft, Implementing Function Spreadsheets Added abstraction capability Realized as a special kind of sheet Scaffidi Sestoft Stoitsev

8 Evolution, development, maintenance Data sharing: interoperability across apps Data from multiple applications must be combined [Stoitsev, Wong] But data is often hard to share [Scaffidi, Doerner] Evolution Evolution includes dynamic changes [Doerner] EU software evolves continuously [Costabile] EUs need an evolutionary perspective [Umarji] Tailoring Individualized variants [Scaffidi, Stoitsev] EUs tailor businesses processes [Stoitsev, Doerner] Domain-specific tailoring for critical applications [Praehofer] Personalizing workflows [el-Gayyar] Constabile Scaffidi Praehofer El-Geyyar Doerner Stoitsev Wong Umarji

9 Data Sharing Interoperability Problems Scaffidi &al, Topes to Validate, Reformat Data Many kinds of data are carried in short strings with many formats: name, date, phone, address Applications assume different format, and checking is binary, no maybe or special cases Topes offer format conversion, validation in [0..1] Doerner, EU Development: SOA Challenges In SOA, problem for EU is gathering all the data for a decision from various sources, DBs EUs want to export to Excel, but SAP cant do this Also cant exchange data between applications Scaffidi Doerner

10 Evolution Doerner, EU Development: SOA Challenges EUs develop and evolve their business processes They may not have enough info about process Major challenge is adaptation at runtime Costabile, EUs as Unwitting Developers EUs often program without being aware of it Their software and adaptations keep evolving Solutions must extend through life cycle Case study shows structured planning for this Constabile Doerner

11 Deliberate process for creating software Shallow learning curve People need immediate gratification [Brandt] Gentle slope [Doerner, Stoitsev] Opportunistic programming [Brandt] Need rules and process, but not the same as for production SW [Brandt] EU code is impermanent [Brandt] Spectrum of users [Costabile] EUs should know approaches to design and development, QA practices, evolutionary perspective, documentation, reuse [Umarji] Some isolated Agile activities Brandt Constabile Doerner Stoitsev Umarji

12 Characteristics of EUs Brandt: Opportunistic Programming Opportunistic software: nontrivial software, little upfront planning, ease and speed of development prioritized over robustness and maintainability Not just sloppy programming, but good process for prototyping, ideation, discovery Build from scratch using high-level tools Add new functionality via copy-and-paste Iterate rapidly Consider code impermanent Face unique debugging challenges Costabile, EUs as Unwitting Developers EUs skills fall along a spectrum from EU to prof Less-skilled often start with tailoring Provide life cycle support, not just to release Brandt Constabile

13 Educating EUs Umarji &al, Teaching SE to EUs Surveyed bioinformatics curricula and recommended things that bioinformaticians should know about SE Recommendations Approaches to software design and development Strong quality assurance (QA) practices Evolutionary perspective Documentation Reuse Umarji

14 Expressiveness and understandability Visual interfaces to tools Define data formats with structured dialog and examples [Scaffidi] Graphical composition [Stoitsev, El-Gayyar] Visual models [Doerner] Domain Oriented Visual Lang [Costabile] Functional interface to visual tools to allow abstraction [Sestoft] Chemical molecule metaphor for composition [Coutaz] Use UML to create domain-specific languages [Shani] People use informal cues to gauge quality of information [Brandt] Brandt Constabile Scaffidi Sestoft El-Geyyar Coutaz Shani Doerner Stoitsev

15 Questions for discussion What are, and how can we resolve, the issues in the process tension between opportunism / gentle learning curve / instant gratification / systematic process / consistency / long-term usefulness How can an EU manage evolution without a systematic process? Can we have a process with a shallow learning curve? What are the potentials and problems for the technique of packaging a new capability variously as plugin, extension, macro in order to integrate it with various systems?