Dynamic user interface adaptation based on operator role and task models

Proper design of human computer interactions currently requires the application of specialized knowledge possessed by talented individuals, often responding to rapidly changing technology and functionality. As computing power and data become more distributed, static design of interactions for dynamic environments may not always produce usable interfaces between people and machines. We have designed a model based, dynamic interaction design system called DIG (Dynamic Interaction Generation) and implemented it in a research prototype using the domain of digital building control systems. DIGBE is a three-tiered system modeling the domain data, the current interaction, and the device-specific presentation of the interaction. It responds to changes in the environment and creates, in real time, an interaction tailored to the current user role, access level, and task. Each interaction is also specialized to match the nature of the information that is currently the focus of the interaction. Full automatic synthesis of any interface at any time may not yet be feasible, but DIGBE demonstrates that it is both possible and useful to automatically generate user interfaces. This may be especially true for complex system domains with variable components but known task structures.