Adapting to mobile contexts with user-interface modeling

Mobile computing offers the possibility of dramatically expanding the versatility of computers, by bringing them off the desktop and into new and unique contexts. However, this new found versatility poses difficult challenges for user interface (UI) designers. We propose three model-based techniques that should aid UI designers who are working in the domain of mobile computing. These techniques allow designers to build UIs across several platforms, while respecting the unique constraints posed by each platform. In addition, these techniques should help designers to recognize and accommodate the unique contexts in which mobile computing occurs. All three techniques depend on the development of a UI model which serves to isolate those features that are common to the various contexts of use, and to specify how the UI should adjust when the context changes. UI models allow automatic and automated tool support that enables UI designers to overcome the challenges posed by mobile computing.