Application of domain engineering to generate customized information dashboards

Application of domain engineering to generate
customized information dashboards

1. Application of domain engineering to generate
customized information dashboards
HCI 2018
Andrea Vázquez-Ingelmo, Francisco J. García-Peñalvo, Roberto Therón
GRIAL Research Group. University of Salamanca
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

2. Outline
•Introduction
•Context
•Materials and Methods
•Results
•Discussion
•Conclusions

3. Introduction
•Dataisavitalresourceformostactivities,whethertrivialor
complex
•Datasupportsinformeddecisionmaking
•Itisnecessarytoexploitthecollecteddatathroughits
analysisinordertoobtainvaluableinformation
•Informationhelpsinthedecision-makingprocess,forming
thebasisforknowledgeandwisdomgeneration

4. Introduction
•Informationdashboardsplayakeyroleinvisualizingthe
outcomesderivedfromthedataanalysisthroughgraphical
resources
•However,thefinalusersofthedashboardscanpresent
differentrequirementsfromeachother
•Itisimportanttoconsiderallofthembecausetheuser
experiencedependsontheachievementofitsrequirements

5. Introduction
•Implementingcustomizeddashboardforeachuserisnot
trivialandwouldconsumesignificantdevelopmenttime
•Informationdashboardsneedtobeflexible,maintainable
andscalableintermsofcontentanddesign
•StudyfieldslikeSoftwareProductLines(SPLs)andModel
DrivenDevelopment(MDD)providepotentiallyuseful
solutionstoproducedashboardswiththeprevious
characteristics

6. Introduction
•TheSPLapproachaimstobreakdownthesolutioninprimary
featuresthatcanbeparameterizedandcomposedtocreate
variationsadjustedtothetargetusersinanefficientway
•Softwareproductlinesfosteranenvironmentwhere
reutilizationandindependentcomponentconfiguration
(throughvariabilitypoints)arethekeyfeaturesofits
potentialbenefits

7. Introduction
https://www.slideshare.net/pagsousa/software-product-lines

8. Context
The Observatory for University Employment and Employability
(OEEU)
•An organization with the vision of becoming an information
reference for understanding and exploiting knowledge about
employment and employability
•The Observatory collects and analyses data about graduates from
Spanish universities to reach insights about these two fields
•Different requirements regarding the presentation of results

9. Context
•Users of the Observatory’s system: Spanish universities,
administrators, general users, etc.
•Necessity of a method to efficiently manage different
requirements regarding the Observatory’s information
dashboards
•Application of the SPL paradigm on the Observatory’s
system to automatically generate customized dashboards
based on a set of requirements

10. Materials and Methods
Base system
•The Observatory counts
on a base system
developed with Django
•The application of this
paradigm is made on the
presentation components
that support the
dashboards

11. Materials and Methods
GraphQL API
•GraphQL provides a language to query data from the
backend
•The development of a GraphQL API gives the chance to
create flexible data flows between the dashboard
components and the backend while maintaining high levels
of decoupling

12. Materials and Methods
Feature Model
•It is necessary to study the commonalities and variability
points of the different products of the SPL
•The feature diagram allows to model the different products’
features

13. Materials and Methods

14. Materials and Methods
Domain specific language (DSL)
•A textual DSL was designed following the feature model
•It allows the management of the requirements of the
Observatory users regarding the dashboard elements in a
centralized and high-level way
•Implemented with XML technology
•The DSL links the feature model with the source code
generator

15. Materials and Methods
Source code generator
•Template-based code generator implemented with Python
•The core assets of the product line are the different code
templates that implement the dashboards’ components
•Given a series of condition the functionalities are injected
in the final dashboard’s source code based on the
requirements specified

16. Materials and Methods
Source code generator

17. Results
•Only the specification of the dashboard configuration (through the DSL)
is required to generate the whole set of source files needed
•Any change on the requirements only involves the modification of the
configuration XML files and the regeneration of the code
•This approach increases
•Efficiency
•Maintainability
•Scalability
of the OEEU’s dashboards and its development

18. Examples of automatically generated
dashboards

19. Results

20. Results

21. Results

22. OEEU

23. OEEU

24. OEEU

25. OEEU

26. OEEU

27. Discussion
•The feature model increases the traceability between the
formal specification of the SPL and its final implementation
•The refactoring of the dashboard’s source code into templates
and macros allows the reutilization of features and software
components
•Capacity of changing and introducing variations and new
requirements without requiring significant development time
•Improvement in terms of scalability and maintainability

28. Discussion
•GraphQL has proved to be a nice option to connect the
dashboard components to the backend, creating flexible data
flows between them
•The use of code templates to implement the core assets
makes the solution applicable for other programming
languages
•Potential framework to perform A/B testing and to study
which product configurations give better support to reach
insights about a particular topic.

29. Conclusions
•The SPL approach has been applied to address the OEEU issues
regarding the customization and maintainability of their
information dashboards
•Future research lines might involve:
•Automatic linkage between the feature model and the DSL
to propagate any modification
•Application of the obtained framework for A/B testing
•Evaluations regarding human-computer interaction

30. Acknowledgements
•The research leading to these results has received funding
from “la Caixa” Foundation.
•This work has been partially funded by the Spanish
Government Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
throughout the DEFINES project (Ref. TIN2016-80172-R)

31. Application of domain engineering to generate
customized information dashboards
HCI 2018
Andrea Vázquez-Ingelmo, Francisco J. García-Peñalvo, Roberto Therón
GRIAL Research Group. University of Salamanca
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]