Constructing Advanced Web-Based Dialog Components with Stakeholders – A DSL Approach

Complex dialogs with comprehensive underlying data models are gaining increasing importance in todaypsilas Web applications. This in turn accelerates the need for highly dynamic dialogs offering guidance to the users and reducing cognitive overload. Beyond that, requirements from the fields of Web accessibility, platform-independence and Web service integration arise. Considering the resulting complexity, a systematic engineering approach becomes important. Besides addressing the specific characteristics of these dialogs, key success factors from a communication perspective like strong user involvement and clear business objectives must be taken into account. To this end, we present an evolutionary, extensible approach for the model-driven construction of advanced dialogs which is based on a Domain-specific Language (DSL). We introduce a modeling notation based on Petri net constructs and XForms as well as a supporting Web-based editor, both focusing on simplicity and fostering communications. The technical framework allows for quick prototyping and flexible changes. In conclusion, complex, device-independent dialogs with rich behavior and appearance can be constructed and evolved with intense stakeholder collaboration.