An automated layout approach for model-driven WIMP-UI generation

Automated Window / Icon / Menu / Pointing Device User Interface (WIMP-UI) generation has been considered a promising technology for at least two decades. One of the major reasons why it has not become mainstream so far is that the usability of automatically generated UIs is rather low. This is mainly because non-functional requirements like layout or style issues are not considered adequately during the generation process. This paper proposes an automated layout approach that supports the explicit specification of layout parameters in device-independent and thus reusable transformation rules. Missing layout parameters are completed automatically, based on 'Layout Hints' under the consideration of scrolling preferences. We are aware that human intervention in the context of UI development will always be required to create high-quality UIs. Therefore, we aim to improve the generated UI by considering hints and applying heuristics, rather than solving a problem for which we believe that there is no generic solution.