Web ML - Design Process

Design Process

A typical design process using WebML proceeds by iterating the following steps for each design cycle:

• Requirements Collection. Application requirements are gathered, which include the main objectives of the site, its target audience, examples of content, style guidelines, required personalization and constraints due to legacy data.
• Data Design. The data expert designs the structural model, possibly by reverse-engineering the existing logical schemas of legacy data sources.
• Hypertext Design "in the large". The Web application architect defines the structure "in the large" of the hypertext, by identifying pages and units, linking them, and mapping units to the main entities and relationships of the structure schema. In this way, he develops a "skeleton" site view, and then iteratively improves it.
• Hypertext Design "in the small". The Web application architect concentrates next in the design "in the small" of the hypertext, by considering each page and unit individually. At this stage, he may add non-contextual links between pages, consolidate the attributes that should be included within a unit, and introduce novel pages or units for special requirements (e.g., alternative index pages to locate objects, filters to search the desired information, and so on).
• Presentation Design. Once all pages are sufficiently stable, the Web style architect adds to each page a presentation style.
• User and Group Design. The Web administrator defines the features of user profiles, based on personalization requirements. Potential users and user groups are mapped to WebML users and groups, and possibly a different site view is created for each group. The design cycle is next iterated for each of the identified site views.
• Customization Design. The Web administrator identifies profile-driven data derivations and business rules, which may guarantee an effective personalization of the site.