Domain-specific visual languages support high-level modeling for a wide range of application domains. However, building tools to support such languages is very challenging. We describe a set of key conceptual requirements for such tools and our approach to addressing these requirements, a set of visual language-based metatools. These support definition of metamodels, visual notations, views, modeling behaviors, design critics, and model transformations and provide a platform to realize target visual modeling tools. Extensions support collaborative work, human-centric tool interaction, and multiplatform deployment. We illustrate application of the metatoolset on tools developed with our approach. We describe tool developer and cognitive evaluations of our platform and our exemplar tools, and summarize key future research directions.

This paper presents a new approach to specifying critics for domain-specific visual language tools using a visual and template-based approach. In this paper we describe our approach for specifying critics for domain-specific visual language tools. This allows target end-user tool developers to design and implement critics efficiently in a natural manner. We describe a survey that we conducted to evaluate our new approach and the Cognitive Dimensions approach that was applied in the survey questionnaire design. Survey results are briefly discussed along with the issues raised by some respondents to improve our approach.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using computer-based ldquocritic toolsrdquo for supporting the end-users or tool designers in analyzing and proactively improving their design artifacts. Several approaches have been applied to designing and realizing such critics, for example rule-based, pattern-matching and knowledge-based approaches. While many studies have found evidence that critic tools are an efficient feedback-providing mechanism, there is still insufficient knowledge about how to provide an effective critic authoring environment. In this paper we apply a business rule template approach as a mechanism to specify and realize critics for Marama-based domain-specific visual language tools. We describe a visual design critic authoring template approach that supports end-users or tool designers in the construction of critics for any Marama-based tools.

We describe the Marama suite of meta-tools. This Eclipse-based toolset permits rapid specification of notational elements, meta-models, view editors and view-model mappings. It has a novel set of behavioural specification tools for both visual and model level behaviours. An integrated mapping tool provides model transformation and code generation support. The toolset has been applied to several significant application development tasks and has undergone a variety of evaluations.