The potential of computers is limited by how effectively users can access their computing power via the user interface. This research attacks the problem of usability by fundamental improvements to the interface development process. It aims at a new generation of behaviorally-oriented techniques for representing the details for the interaction between users and systems. Interactions are represented by means of a User Interface Notation (UAN) which is being developed for communication among persons with various professional backgrounds involved in various phases of the development cycle of a specific interface. Experiments will be performed to evaluate an existing UAN and to develop criteria for new features and capabilities of the notation. A theoretical analyses will be done based on cognitive theory and relating the approach to other work in human-computer interactions. The results will be integrated into a set of coherent requirements for the next generation of a UAN. The requirements will then form the basis for the development of tools which use the revised UAN. The tools include an editor and tools to generate code and skeletal user documentation from a UAN description of task.
