Evolutionary Web Development -- (c) Springer London, 2000

Arno Scharl

Evolutionary Web Development

Automated Analysis, Adaptive Design, and Interactive Visualization of Commercial Web Information Systems

Overview:

Evolutionary Web Development examines the evolution of Web information systems, paying particular attention to the emergent attributes of electronic markets. It identifies four categories of architecture and demonstrates their virtues and limitations: static, interactive, adaptive, and agent-mediated systems. Advanced systems require the developer to truly understand the needs and preferences of customers. As well as such personal attributes, the availability of empirical data about the structure and content of Web information systems is a precondition for their effective assessment. Most previous evaluation frameworks rely on expert judgements. Arno Scharl extends and complements these efforts, and presents an automated and scalable approach to Web assessment. He emphasizes the role of feedback in an iterative cycle of design, implementation, usage, and analysis. Evolutionary Web Development blends a strong theoretical background with state-of-the-art research and several industry analyses. This makes it a valuable resource for researchers and students, which will also be welcomed by practitioners looking for effective methods and tools.

About
the author:

Prof Arno Scharl is the Vice President of MODUL University Vienna, where he heads the Department of New Media Technology. Prior to his current appointment, he held professorships at the University of Western Australia and Graz University of Technology, was a Key Researcher at the Austrian Competence Center for Knowledge Management, and a Visiting Fellow at Curtin University of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley. Arno Scharl completed his doctoral research and habilitation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Additionally, he holds a PhD from the University of Vienna, Department of Sports Physiology. He has edited a recent book on the Geospatial Web, founded the ECOresearch Network and served as co-chair of the 20th International Conference on Informatics for Environmental Protection (www.enviroinfo.net). His current research interests focus on the integration of semantic and geospatial Web technology, Web mining and media monitoring (e.g. a Web monitoring system on the US Election 2008), virtual communities and environmental online communication.