Track 14. 9th International Workshop on Software Engineering for E-learning (ISELEAR’18) Authors: Andrea Vázquez-Ingelmo, Francisco José García-Peñalvo and Roberto Theron https://youtu.be/4T87QwwQSgQ

1. Domain engineering for generating dashboards to
analyze employment and employability in the
academic context
Andrea Vázquez-Ingelmo, Francisco J. García-Peñalvo, Roberto Therón
GRIAL Research Group,
Research Institute for Educational Sciences,
University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
andreavazquez@usal.es, fgarcia@usal.es, theron@usal.es

2. Index
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

3. Introduction
• Informed decision-making processes have gained relevance given
the potential benefits of using data to support strategies
• Necessity of powerful tools for managing and analyzing large
volumes of data to support knowledge generation
• Information dashboards are one of the most commonly used
software tools to explore data in an interactive and friendly way
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

4. Introduction
• There are complex fields of study, like employability, that could
take advantage from these tools
• The employability concept has not yet a strong theoretical
foundation given the complexity of discovering influential
indicators to asses it
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

5. Introduction
• However developing information dashboards is not a trivial
task
• Several requirements can be involved and can vary among the
different user profiles
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

6. Introduction
• Software engineering paradigms like software product lines (SPL)
provide solutions for managing sets of differing requirements,
focusing on the reutilization and composition of base software
assets
• SPL improve:
o Scalability
o Maintainability
o Customization
o Development time
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

7. Introduction
• Experimental framework for generating customized dashboards
applying the SPL paradigm
• Case study on the Spanish Observatory for University
Employment and Employability
o Organization with the vision to become an information
reference for understanding the behavior of the variables
related to employment and employability of students from
Spanish universities
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

8. Index
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

9. Methodology
Domain engineering
• The domain of the product line to be developed is studied in order
to identify the commonalities and variability points of the family
of products
• By identifying these characteristics, it is possible to model the SPL
through a feature diagram
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10. Methodology
• Three components have been modeled for this case study
• These components are three kind of information visualizations that
could have different data sources, functionalities or even layout
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

11. Methodology
Code generation
• The identified components were implemented through code
templates
• Variability points (features) were implemented through macros
• The configuration phase is automated through a template based
code generator
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

12. Methodology
DSL
• A DSL was designed to abstract the product configuration process
• The features of the product to be generated are specified through
XML technology
• The DSL and code templates feed a code generator that
configures the product accordingly
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13. Methodology
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018
DSL

14. Methodology
Code generator
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15. Index
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

16. Results
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17. Results
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18. Results
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19. Results
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20. Results
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21. Index
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

22. Discussion
• The software product line paradigm helps to manage different
and dynamic requirements by providing a theoretical framework
for implementing modular, configurable and reusable software
components
• It is important to take into account the heterogeneity of the
sources involved to decouple the logic of the software
components from the information that they will finally present
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

23. Discussion
• Software interfaces require both the study of the domain in which
they will be framed and the study of the target users that will end
up using the products
• It is important to provide not only aesthetic but also functional
and helpful dashboards
• Automatic generation of highly customizable and usable
interfaces is still a tough process that require semi-automatic or
even manual design processes
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

24. Index
1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

25. Conclusions
• An automatic method for generating customized dashboards to
analyze the organization’s data regarding university employment
and employability has been provided
• Developing a framework to efficiently generate flexible and
customizable information dashboards could give a strong
foundation to create powerful tools with the main goal of helping
decision-makers to take well-informed decisions
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

26. Discussion
GRIAL Research Group - TEEM 2018

27. Domain engineering for generating dashboards to
analyze employment and employability in the
academic context
Andrea Vázquez-Ingelmo, Francisco J. García-Peñalvo, Roberto Therón
GRIAL Research Group,
Research Institute for Educational Sciences,
University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
andreavazquez@usal.es, fgarcia@usal.es, theron@usal.es