Distributed User Interfaces in Time and Space

Distributed User Interfaces (DUIs) have been imagined in order to support end users in carrying out interactive tasks that could be distributed in space (e.g., some subtasks are carried out in different locations) and time (e.g., some subtasks are carried out during different time intervals, depending on who is contributing to the task. Classical interactive applications involving a single-user, single-context user interface are rarely developed in a way that distributing parts or whole of the user interface is made effective and efficient. In order to facilitate the deployment of such distributed user interfaces, this thesis provides the following contributions: a series of models capturing the various
aspects of a DUI based on new concepts (i.e. distribution
scene and scenario), an engineering method for specifying
DUIs based on these concepts, and a supporting toolkit
providing the developers with distribution primitives.