Putting power in the hands of end users: a study of programming by demonstration, with an application to geographical information systems

Many software applications, especially ones that arise out of technical domains, are difficult for non-technical end users to comprehend and use. Such users are often dependent on experts who serve as intermediaries between them and the software. Geographical information systems (GIS), for example, frequently require such intermediaries. This project involves the design and evaluation of a new end-user programming environment, with an application to GISs. The project adopts a programming-by-demonstration (PBD) approach, in which the software builds a program representation based on the user’s interaction with an application’s user interface. The research plan includes evaluation of a prototype of the PBD environment, implementation of the environment, and evaluation of the PBD approach via empirical studies.