Web Engineering
Chapter 1
Course Objectives
The Objectives of this course are:
1. To study the fundamentals of web engineering
2. To study current technologies for developing web applications
3. To apply current technologies in developing web-applications and
web services
What are Web Applications?
Applications accessed with Web browsers over networks such as the
Internet or intranet.
Access typically requires human intervention
What are Web Services?
Software systems designed to support interoperable Machine to
Machine interaction over a network.
Access typically does not require human intervention
Course Learning Outcomes
After completing this course, the student should
be able to:
Perform analysis modeling and design modeling for web applications.
Identify candidate tools and technologies for developing web applications.
Develop user-interfaces for web applications
Describe and transform data using XML and its related technologies
Develop web applications and web services.
SWE 444: Internet & Web Application 0.3
Development
Software Proje ct SuccessRate
Data on 280,000 projects completed in 2000 - Standish
Group Data
Definition of Software Engineering
• Software Engineering is defined as the
application of science and mathematics by
which the capabilities of computer equipment
are made useful to man via computer
programs, procedures, and associated
documentation.
What is Web Engineering?
“The application of systematic and
quantifiable approaches to cost-effective
analysis, design, implementation, testing,
operation, and maintenance of high-quality
Web applications.” – Kappel et al.
Extends Software Engineering to Web
applications, but with Web-centric
approaches.
Definition of Web Engineering
• Web Engineering is the application of
systematic and quantifiable approaches
(concepts, methods, techniques, tools) to cost‐
effective requirements analysis, design,
implementation, testing, operation, and
maintenance of high‐quality Web applications.
A Survey by theCutter Consortium
• The top problem areas of large‐scaleWeb
application projects
– Failure to meet business needs(84%)
– Project schedule delays (79%)
– Budget overrun (63%)
– Lack of functionalities (53%)
– Poor quality of deliverables(52%)
Chapter 1:Web-Based Systems
• In the early days of the Web, we built systems
using informality, urgency, intuition, andart
– Informality leads to an easy work environment—one in which
you can do your own thing.
– Urgency leads to action and rapid decision making.
– Intuition is an intangible quality that enables you to “feel” your
way through complexsituations.
– Art leads to aesthetic form and function—to something that
pleases those who encounterit.
• Problem is—this approach can and often does
lead to problems
TheWeb
• An indispensable technology
– In virtually every aspect of modern living
• A transformative technology
– Changes the way we dothings
– Changes the way we acquire and disseminate information
• An evolving technology
• Bottom line—high impact on everyone in the
modern world
Defining Web Applications
A Web application is a system that utilizes
W3C standards & technologies to deliver
Web-specific resources to clients (typically)
through a browser.
A strict definition that ensures software and UI aspects of the Web are
examined carefully
Technology + interaction.
Web site with no software components?
Web services?
WebApps
• The term Web application(WebApp)
encompasses:
– everything from a simple Web page that might help a
consumer compute an automobile lease payment to a
comprehensive website that provides complete travel
services for business people andvacationers.
– Included within this category are complete websites,
specialized functionality within websites, andinformation‐
processing applications that reside on the Internet or on
an Intranet or Extranet.
WebApp Attributes
• Network intensiveness • Content sensitive
• Concurrency • Continuous evolution
• Unpredictable load • Immediacy
• Performance • Security
• Availability • Aesthetics
• Data driven
WebApp Types
• Informational • Transaction‐oriented
• Download • Service‐oriented
• Customizable • Portals
• Interaction • Database access
• User input • Data warehousing
The Case for Web Engineering
Application development on the Web remains
largely ad hoc.
Spontaneous, one-time events
Individual experience
Little or no documentation for code/design
Short-term savings lead to long-term
problems in operation, maintenance,
usability, etc.
Because Web apps are so interdependent, the
problem is compounded.
The Case for Web Engineering (cont.)
Root Causes of poor design
Development as an authoring activity
Development is “easy”
Techniques that should not be used are misapplied.
Techniques that should be used are not.
Particularly alarming given…
Most projects are now Web-based
More “mission-critical” apps moving to the Web
The Case for Web Engineering (cont.)
Top project pitfalls (Cutter, 2000)
84% - Failure to meet business objectives
79% - Project schedule delays
63% - Budget overrun
53% - Lack of functionality
Web Engineering’s solution:
Clearly defined goals & objectives
Systematic, phased development
Careful planning
Iterative & continuous auditing of the entire process
Categories of Web
Applications Ubiquitous Semantic
Web
Social Web
Collaborative
Complexity
Workflow
Based
Portal
Transactional
Oriented
Interactive
Doc-Centric
Development History
COMPLEXITY UBIQUITOUS
• Location-Aware Service SEMANTIC WEB
• Multi-Platform Delivery
• Knowledge Management
• Customize dService
• Recommender System
• Syndication
COLLABORATIVE SOCIAL WEB
• Chat room • Virtual Shared Workspace
• E-Learning Platform • Collaborative Filtering
• P2P-Service • Weblogs
WORKFLOW-BASED
• E-Government
• B2B Solution
TRANSACTIONAL•Patient Workflow PORTAL-ORIENTED
• Community-Portal
• Online Banking • Online Shopping Mall
• Online Shopping • Business Portal
• Booking System
INTERACTIVE
• Virtual Exhibition
• News Site
• Travel Planning
DOCUMENT-CENTRIC
• Static Homepage
• Web Radio
• Company Web Site
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
Categories of WebApplications
Document-Centric Web sites
Precursors to Web applications
Static HTML documents
Manual updates
Pros
Simple, stable, short response times
Cons
High management costs for frequent updates & large collections
More prone to inconsistent/redundant info
Example: static home pages
Interactive & Transactional
Come with the introduction of CGI and HTML forms
Simple interactivity
Dynamic page creation
Web pages and links to other pages generated dynamically based on
user input
Content updates -> Transactions
Decentralized
Database connectivity
Increased complexity
Examples: news sites, booking systems, online banking
Workflow-Based Applications
Designed to handle business processes across
departments, organizations & enterprises
Business logic defines the structure
The role of Web services
Interoperability
Loosely-coupled
Standards-based
Examples: B2B & e-Government
High complexity; autonomous entities
Collaborative & Social Web
Unstructured, cooperative environments
Support shared information workspaces to create, edit and manage
shared information
Interpersonal communication is paramount
Classic example: Wikis
The Social Web
Anonymity traditionally characterized WWW
Moving towards communities of interest
Examples: Blogs, collaborative filtering systems, social bookmarking
(e.g., del.icio.us)
Integration with other forms of web applications (e..g, NetFlix)
Portal-Oriented
Single points-of-entry to heterogenous
information
Yahoo!, AOL.com, portal.kfupm.edu.sa
Specialized portals
Business portals (e.g., employee intranet)
Marketplace portals (horizontal & vertical)
Community portals (targeted groups)
Ubiquitous
Customized services delivered anywhere via
multiple devices
HCI is critical
Limitations of devices (screen size, bandwidth?)
Context of use
Still an emerging field; most devices have
single focus:
Personalization
Location-aware
Multi-platform delivery
Semantic Web
Berners-Lee: Information on the Web should
be readable to machines, as well as humans.
Using metadata and ontologies to facilitate
knowledge management across the WWW.
Content syndication (RSS, Atom) promotes re-
use of knowledge
Is the Semantic Web even possible?
Characteristics of Web Apps
How do Web applications differ from
traditional applications?
Or, another way, what Software Engineering
methods & techniques can be adapted to
Web Engineering?
3 dimensions of the ISO/IEC 9126-1 standard
Product
Usage
Development
Characteristics - Product
Product-related characteristics constitute the “building
blocks” of a Web application
Content
Document character & multimedia (# of dimensions?)
Quality demands: current, exact, consistent, reliable
Navigation Structure (Hypertext)
Non-linearity
Potential problems: Disorientation & cognitive overload
User interface (Presentation)
Aesthetics
Self-explanation
Characteristics - Usage
Much greater diversity compared to traditional non-Web
applications
Users vary in numbers, cultural background, devices, h/w, s/w, location
etc
Social Context (Users)
Spontaneity - scalability
Heterogeneous groups
Technical Context (Network & Devices)
Quality-of-Service
Multi-platform delivery
Natural Context (Place & Time)
Globality
Availability
Characteristics - Development
The Development Team
Multidisciplinary – print publishing, s/w devt, marketing & computing, art &
technology
Community (including Open Source)
Technical Infrastructure
Lack of control on the client side
Immaturity
Process
Flexibility
Parallelism
Integration
Internal – with existing legacy systems
External – with Web services
Integration issues: correct interaction, guaranteed QoS
Why WebEngineering?
• As WebApps become larger and more complex,
– Informality remains, but some degree of requirements
gathering and planning arenecessary
– Urgency remains, but it must be tempered by a recognition that
decisions may have broadconsequences
– Intuition remains, but it must be augmented by proven
management and technicalpatterns
– Art remains, but it must be complemented with solid design
• Bottom line:
– we must adapt the old‐school approach to the realities of a Web
2.0 world
