On the Life Cycle of Multimedia Software Systems

Multimedia Software Systems (MSS) are characterized by their surface capabilities of collecting and producing textual, pictorial, sound and haptic events. A crucial requirement on the MSS-user interaction is to prevent users from getting lost in the multimedia virtual space and from performing incorrect operations. To this end, MSS development requires the coordination of computational and output generation processes with human cognitive and gestural processes. These requirements are becoming stricter because MSS are increasingly used by end-users -experts in some fields other than computer scienceto develop their own applications and produce results to be shared with other users. Their satisfaction calls for the development of new techniques in MSS design, implementation, and evaluation. MSS design must explicitly take into account the dynamic of time-space organization of the surface as well as the constraints imposed by the current technologies. Implementation must explicitly take into account the management of the surface characteristics with respect to the human user profile. Evaluation is no longer limited to MSS algorithmic and computational aspects, but must also explicitly take into account its usability. MSS use cannot be considered as the final stage of its life cycle but rather as a source of suggestions for new applications and improvements of the interaction technologies and of the MSS itself. This paper describes a user-centered approach to MSS design and development, aimed at allowing users to control the activities performed through the MSS. It also describes the life cycle of a MSS when implemented from scratch and a set of technologies for visual interaction and interactive computation are available.