Mobilization by demonstration: Using traces to re-author existing web sites

Abstract

Today s web pages provide many useful features, but unfortunately nearly all are designed first and foremost for the desktop form factor. At the same time, the number of mobile devices with different form factors and unique input and output facilities is growing substantially. The Highlight re-authoring environment addresses these problems by allowing users to start with existing sites they already use and create mobile versions that are customized to their tasks and mobile devices. This "re-authoring" is performed through a combination of demonstrating desired interactions with an existing web site and directly specifying content to be included on mobile pages. The system has been tested successfully with a variety of existing sites. A study showed that novice users were able to use the system to create useful mobile applications for sites of their own choosing. Copyright 2008 ACM.