User Interface Development by Proxy

A branch of software development is characterized by the reliance on Partners to adapt a Vendor's domain specific software to fit Customers. As part of a project that researches this software value chain, we investigate specifically the requirements and techniques to develop user interfaces in a suitable fashion.In the Vendor-Partner-Customer arrangement, a Vendor is responsible for his platform's points of variablity, i.e. the ways in which a Partner may utilize the Vendor's software components. With the proper variation points Partners can efficiently construct finished user interfaces to honor particular requirements for task support and visual appearance. This paper outlines an architecture for the design and construction of user interfaces in the scenario. We point to the relevance of model-based user interface development to the context, present the notion of a user interface family, and discuss preliminary results.