VOCAL: Interactive System & Tool Support

This paper illustrates the application of VOCAL ( Viewpoint Oriented Verifi cation and Va l idation) to the development of systems incorporating an interactive graphical user interface (GUI). Many applications are now designed to operate interactively rather than in batch mode. In most cases though test processes do not adequately consider the multi-perspective approach required to test, and evaluate such products. Incrementally constructed, prototyped based development models are often associated with the production of interactive systems. Such models of development can lead to difficulties if the testing process has not been designed to cope with rapid iteration, and evaluation. VOCAL bridges this gap by providing a multiple perspective based model of verification a d evaluation, capable of supporting design iteration, and evolutionary user interface development and testing. The paper demonstrates how the VOCAL framework is tailored to cope with this increasingly important class of system, using viewpoints for the management and capture of interactive system test perspectives. To aid VOCALs application to interactive and other systems, current developments in prototype tool support are described. Subsequently, the prototype tool’s design, implementation, nd operation is discussed and evaluated, along with support for process management. Finally, future enhancements are described that may be incorporated in later versions of the tool. VOCAL: Interactive System & Tool Support Duncan Pemberton Co-operative Systems Engineering Group (CSEG) Department Of Computing Lancaster University Lancaster, LA1 4YR. e-mail: pemberto@comp.lancs.ac.uk WWW: http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/staff/pemberto.html Abstract This paper illustrates the application of VOCAL ( Viewpoint Oriented Verifi cation and Va l idation) to the development of systems incorporating an interactive graphical user interface (GUI). Many applications are now designed to operate interactively rather than in batch mode. In most cases though test processes do not adequately consider the multiperspective approach required to test, and evaluate such products.This paper illustrates the application of VOCAL ( Viewpoint Oriented Verifi cation and Va l idation) to the development of systems incorporating an interactive graphical user interface (GUI). Many applications are now designed to operate interactively rather than in batch mode. In most cases though test processes do not adequately consider the multiperspective approach required to test, and evaluate such products. Incrementally constructed, prototyped based development models are often associated with the production of interactive systems. Such models of development can lead to difficulties if the testing process has not been designed to cope with rapid iteration, and evaluation. VOCAL bridges this gap by providing a multiple perspective based model of verification and evaluation, capable of supporting design iteration, and evolutionary user interface development and testing. The paper demonstrates how the VOCAL framework is tailored to cope with this increasingly important class of system, using viewpoints for the management and capture of interactive system test perspectives. To aid VOCALs application to interactive and other systems, current developments in prototype tool support are described. Subsequently, the prototype tool’s design, implementation, and operation is discussed and evaluated, along with support for p ocess management. Finally, future enhancements are described that may be incorporated in later versions of the tool.