Abstract
Perhaps the one thing that user interface designers most want is tools that will help them (a) quickly visualize their work; (b) carry it out more efficiently and faster; and (c) do iterative design; and (d) allow them to do more work without the need of programmers. An on-going research project (called ITS) is responding to these challenges by developing software tools for user interface and application development, together with providing a run-time environment for application execution. There are four key concepts. First, ITS separates the style of an application from the content of an application. Human-computer interface styles are general, rule-based, under parameter control, and designed to handle a variety of applications. Second, ITS envisions four general work roles in application design and development: content experts, content programmers, style experts, and style programmers. Third, end users do four operations: make choices, fill in forms, manipulate lists, and read information blocks. Fourth, ITS aims at creating software tools for each work role.
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