A Configurator Component for End-User
Defined Mobile Data Collection Processes
Johannes Schobel, R¨udiger Pryss, Marc Schickler, Manfred Reichert
Institute of Databases and Information Systems, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
{johannes.schobel, ruediger.pryss, marc.schickler, manfred.reichert}@uni-ulm.de
Abstract. The widespread dissemination of smart mobile devices offers
promising perspectives for collecting huge amounts of data. When real-
izing mobile data collection applications (e.g., to support clinical trials),
challenging issues arise. For example, many real-world projects require
support for heterogeneous mobile operating systems. Usually, existing
data collection approaches are based on specifically tailored mobile ap-
plications. As a drawback, changes of a data collection procedure require
costly code adaptations. To remedy this drawback, we implemented a
model-driven approach that enables end-users to realize mobile data col-
lection applications themselves. This paper demonstrates the developed
configurator component, which enables domain experts to implement
digital questionnaires. Altogether, the configurator component allows for
the fast development of questionnaires and hence for collecting data in
large-scale scenarios using smart mobile devices.
1 Introduction
In many application scenarios (e.g., clinical trials), data collection is still based
on paper-based questionnaires (so-called instruments), which reveal many draw-
backs (e.g., huge efforts for digitizing and analyzing the data collected). Using
smart mobile devices with specifically tailored services offers promising perspec-
tives in this context. The development of respective mobile services, however, is
both time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, the mobile support of mobile data
collection scenarios often requires profound domain-specific knowledge. Hence,
a generic and flexible approach to speed up the development of mobile data
collection applications is demanded by domain experts [3]. In the QuestionSys
project, we developed an advanced framework for supporting the lifecycle of mo-
bile data collection scenarios. On one hand, IT experts are relieved from costly
manual tasks (e.g., deploying mobile applications to devices). On the other, do-
main experts (e.g., medical doctors) are empowered to create sophisticated data
collection instruments following a process-centric approach for their design and
enactment. This paper demonstrates the configurator component that enables
domain experts to create sophisticated instruments for large-scale data collection
scenarios.
The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents selected services of the
framework. Section 3 discusses related work and Section 4 summarizes the paper.
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Create Mobile Data Collection
Instrument through End-User
Programming
Process-Centric
Instrument Logic
1) Configurator 3) Process-Driven Mobile
Data Collection Application
2) Process Model
Lightweight Process Engine for
Process Execution and Monitoring
Sensor Framework To
Integrate Hardware
UI Generator with
Custom Control Elements
Fig. 1. QuestionSys Approach
2 The QuestionSys Framework
This section introduces the QuestionSys framework (cf. Fig. 1) and its underly-
ing mobile data collection lifecycle: The Design & Modeling phase allows domain
experts to create an instrument by applying a graphical questionnaire definition
tool. The resulting specification is then transformed into an executable process
model based on a well-defined mapping. The Deployment phase then handles
the installation on smart mobile devices. During the Execution phase, multiple
instances of the instrument may be started. In order to allow for a robust but still
flexible enactment, a mobile process engine is used. During the Analysis phase
collected data may be evaluated in real-time in order to provide immediate feed-
back if needed. Finally, the Versioning phase deals with release management of
the created instruments and collected data respectively. This paper focuses on
the configurator component. However, more details regarding the other compo-
nents of the QuestionSys architecture and the mobile data collection lifecycle
are provided in [4].
Fig. 2 a
shows the element creation view of the QuestionSys configurator
(cf. Fig. 1, 1
). First, the domain expert (i.e., end-user) chooses the respective
questionnaire from the left. Then, elements of different types (e.g., Headlines or
Questions) may be selected. In the rightmost part, the content of an element
may be edited. In particular, the configurator allows versioning and handling
multiple languages. To enable an immediate feedback when editing elements, an
interactive preview is provided. The feature further allows simulating different
devices and switching between languages. The most important function allows
combining elements to pages using a drag & drop approach.
Fig. 2 b
illustrates the modeling perspective. Domain experts may use the
created pages and drag them to the model depicted in the center view. Further-
more, the modeling component allows creating sophisticated navigation opera-
tions to guide interviewers through the process of data collection. Note that the
modeling editor follows a correctness-by-construction approach; e.g., it is not
possible to create a non-executable model. Finally, the questionnaire model is
mapped to an executable process model (cf. Fig. 1, 2
).
Show all available
Questionnaires Select question element
Select different
types of elements
Combine elements to pages
using drag and drop operations
Provide an interactive live
preview of elements
Manage details of
selected elements
Select page element
Export model in different
formats (e.g., process
models, PDF documents, …)
Select page elements
Provide detailed
error messages if
model is not correct
Provide an interactive live
preview of a page
Specify a device, orientation
and language for live preview
Design complex navigation
operations with multiple branches
references
references
a)
b)
Fig. 2. QuestionSys Configurator: (a) Combining elements to pages; (b) Modeling a
data collection instrument
The configurator component and its model-driven approach allows domain
experts to visually define executable instruments. In turn, it contributes to re-
duce costs and increase productivity regarding mobile application development.
To validate the approach, a mobile application (cf. Fig. 1, 3
) supporting
scientists during data collection was realized and applied in large-scale trials.
More details regarding the mobile process engine, capable of executing data
collection instruments, are discussed in [5]. Fig. 3 presents impressions of the
developed mobile data collection application.
3 Related Work
There exist various approaches supporting non-programmers in creating soft-
ware. Their feasibility and applicability were proven in several studies. [2] pro-
Fig. 3. QuestionSys Mobile Data Collection Application Impressions
vides a tool assisting administrators in their daily routines, allowing them to
visually model scripts. In turn, [1] presents a graphical notation for implement-
ing block-structured programs. Evaluations showed that subjects prefer this ap-
proach compared to text-based programming. Due to their limitations, however,
these approaches cannot be applied for more complex data collection scenarios.
4 Summary and Outlook
The paper presented two components of the QuestionSys framework. In partic-
ular, we demonstrated the configurator component enabling domain experts to
create instrument themselves. In addition, the mobile application was discussed.
Currently, we are conducting a study evaluating the usability of the configu-
rator component. Information regarding the process of creating elements and
combining them to instruments are of particular interest in this context.
References
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Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. ACM (2005)
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Collection in Healthcare. In: 29th Int’l Symp on Computer-Based Medical Systems.
IEEE Computer Society Press (2016)
4. Schobel, J., Pryss, R., Schickler, M., Ruf-Leuschner, M., Elbert, T., Reichert,
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