Related papers: Usable-by-Construction: a formal framework
The paper presents an explicit state-based modeling approach aimed at modeling Systems of Systems behavior. The approach allows to specify and verify incrementally safety and liveness rules without using model checking techniques. The…
In the current control design of safety-critical autonomous systems, formal verification techniques are typically applied after the controller is designed to evaluate whether the required properties (e.g., safety) are satisfied. However,…
We explore the features of a user interface where formal proofs can be built through gestural actions. In particular, we show how proof construction steps can be associated to drag-and-drop actions. We argue that this can provide quick and…
That computers should be easy to learn and use is a rarely-questioned tenet of user interface design. But what do we gain from prioritising usability and learnability, and what do we lose? I explore how simplicity is not an inevitable truth…
This paper discusses the concept of model-driven software engineering applied to the Grid application domain. As an extension to this concept, the approach described here, attempts to combine both formal architecture-centric and…
In a multi-modeling based approach, the system under development is described by several models that represent various perspectives and concerns. Obviously, these partial representations are less complex than the global model, but they need…
Usability engineering is situated in a much larger social and institutional context than is usually acknowledged by usability professionals in the way that they define their field. The definitions and processes used in the improvement of…
We demonstrate, by a number of examples, that information-flow security properties can be proved from abstract architectural descriptions, that describe only the causal structure of a system and local properties of trusted components. We…
The principle of abstraction guides the design of interactive systems, yet we lack a conceptual framework to understand how it shapes interaction design. Existing models, such as the gulfs of execution and evaluation, do not explicitly…
Agent-based models (ABMs) are ubiquitous in research and industry. Currently, simulating ABMs involves at least some imperative (step-by-step) computer instructions. An alternative approach is declarative programming, in which a set of…
This article provides formal definitions characterizing well-formed composition of components in order to guarantee their safe deployment and execution. Our work focuses on the structural aspects of component composition; it puts together…
This paper outlines a general formal framework for reasoning systems, intended to support future analysis of inference architectures across domains. We model reasoning systems as structured tuples comprising phenomena, explanation space,…
In this position paper we propose a process model that provides a development infrastructure in which the usability engineering and software engineering life cycles co-exist in complementary roles. We describe the motivation, hurdles,…
Reproducibility is a key requirement for scientific progress. It allows the reproduction of the works of others, and, as a consequence, to fully trust the reported claims and results. In this work, we argue that, by facilitating…
Defining abstract algorithmic structures like functions and variables using self-made tangibles can enhance the usability and affordability of the tangible programming experience by maintaining the input modality and physical interaction…
This article offers several contributions to the interdisciplinary project of responsible research and innovation in data science and AI. First, it provides a critical analysis of current efforts to establish practical mechanisms for…
Accountability aims to provide explanations for why unwanted situations occurred, thus providing means to assign responsibility and liability. As such, accountability has slightly different meanings across the sciences. In computer science,…
Formal Methods are mathematically-based techniques for software design and engineering, which enable the unambiguous description of and reasoning about a system's behaviour. Autonomous systems use software to make decisions without human…
Reversibility is a key issue in the interface between computation and physics, and of growing importance as miniaturization progresses towards its physical limits. Most foundational work on reversible computing to date has focussed on…
Maintaining an acceptable level of quality of service in modern complex systems is challenging, particularly in the presence of various forms of uncertainty caused by changing execution context, unpredicted events, etc. Although…