Not all user intentions can be extracted from the speech acts associated with an user utterance. Extra reasoning may be needed to interpret what the user said. We describe how interpretations can be generated using (i) the knowledge associated with each domain object; and (ii) the system’s expectations. We also present a way of connecting interpretations to discourse obligations, from where sys...

This position paper gives an overview of our ongoing work within the ALADIN project, which aims to develop an assistive vocal interface for people with physical impairments. Unlike most current Automatic Speech Recognition solutions, the system is entirely trained by the user, which provides extra challenges to the design of the interface. We describe three iterations of our user tests, showing...

We follow an empirical approach from data quality toward text quality, where the expectations of the consumer, human or machine, take the centre stage. We try to obtain numerical text quality statements which must be interpreted for the expectations of the user and suitability for automatic natural language processing (NLP) separately. We state that apart from text accessibility today only repr...

Until very recently the model of a user interacting with a single-user application dominated the computing world. But as can be seen from the success of applications such as online chat, multi-user games, and instant messaging, this paradigm is beginning to change. The world of computing is becoming a world in which people work, learn, and play together, rather than as single users. This change...

The needs and expectations of modern-day applications are changing in the sense that they not only need computing resources (be they processing power, memory or disk space), but also the ability to remain available to service user requests almost constantly 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. These needs and expectations of today’s applications result in challenging research and development eff...

Organizations are increasingly adopting cloud-based services to meet their business needs. However, due to the complexity and diversity of cloud systems it is important to evaluate the user experience using within a framework that encompasses the characteristics that define the user experience. In this paper, we propose a cloud usability framework to provide a structure to evaluate the key attr...

Successful User Interface (UI) designs often utilise insight into tasks by studying user interactions, intentions, and expectations. User interaction itself amounts to the interplay of cognition and information processing as embodied by task routines or sequences that are commonly captured in a TA. This chapter will focus on procedures for uncovering cognitive processes relative to user goals a...

The Java Modeling Language, JML, is a notation for specifying and describing the detailed design and implementation of Java modules. It is a model-based specification language offering, in particular, method specification by preand post-condition, and class invariants to document required module behavior. It has recently been noted that the JML semantics of expressions over numeric types do not...

Nowadays, the Web has become the main gateway for organisations as well as making information accessible through the World Wide Web. Previous usability studies have focused on the development and user-centered design of websites. The location of objects through the use of a mental model is able to help users to navigate the Web and access information easily. The rationale for developing a menta...

Smart phones and wearable devices have replaced personal computers and desktops as the primary platform for accessing online applications and services. However, these mobile devices bring forth new and additional forms of security and privacy risks, which were non-existent in traditional personal computers. For instance, several recent research efforts have shown that motion sensors such as acc...