Engineering Interactive Systems (EIS) 2008 was an international event combining the 2nd working conference on Human-Centred Software Engineering (HCSE 2008) and the 7th International Workshop on TAsk MOdels and DIAgrams (TAMODIA 2008). HCSE is a working conference that brings together researchers and practitioners - terested in strengthening the scientific foundations of user interface design and examining the relationship between software engineering and human-computer interaction and how to strengthen user-centred design as an essential part of so- ware engineering processes. As a working conference, substantial time is devoted to the open and lively discussion of papers. TAMODIA is an international workshop on models, such as task models and visual representations in Human-Computer Interaction (one of the most widely used notations in this area, ConcurTaskTrees, was developed in the town that hosted this year’s event). It focuses on notations used to describe user tasks ranging from textual and graphical forms to interactive, multimodal and multimedia tools.

Engineering Interactive Systems (EIS) 2008 was an international event combining the 2nd working conference on Human-Centred Software Engineering (HCSE 2008) and the 7th International Workshop on TAsk MOdels and DIAgrams (TAMODIA 2008). HCSE is a working conference that brings together researchers and practitioners - terested in strengthening the scientific foundations of user interface design and examining the relationship between software engineering and human-computer interaction and how to strengthen user-centred design as an essential part of so- ware engineering processes. As a working conference, substantial time is devoted to the open and lively discussion of papers. TAMODIA is an international workshop on models, such as task models and visual representations in Human-Computer Interaction (one of the most widely used notations in this area, ConcurTaskTrees, was developed in the town that hosted this year’s event). It focuses on notations used to describe user tasks ranging from textual and graphical forms to interactive, multimodal and multimedia tools.

Engineering Interactive Systems (EIS) 2008 was an international event combining the 2nd working conference on Human-Centred Software Engineering (HCSE 2008) and the 7th International Workshop on TAsk MOdels and DIAgrams (TAMODIA 2008). HCSE is a working conference that brings together researchers and practitioners - terested in strengthening the scientific foundations of user interface design and examining the relationship between software engineering and human-computer interaction and how to strengthen user-centred design as an essential part of so- ware engineering processes. As a working conference, substantial time is devoted to the open and lively discussion of papers. TAMODIA is an international workshop on models, such as task models and visual representations in Human-Computer Interaction (one of the most widely used notations in this area, ConcurTaskTrees, was developed in the town that hosted this year’s event). It focuses on notations used to describe user tasks ranging from textual and graphical forms to interactive, multimodal and multimedia tools.

In May 2006, The University of Utah hosted an NSF-funded minicourse on stochastic partial differential equations. The goal of this minicourse was to introduce graduate students and recent Ph. D.s to various modern topics in stochastic PDEs, and to bring together several experts whose research is centered on the interface between Gaussian analysis, stochastic analysis, and stochastic partial differential equations. This monograph contains an up-to-date compilation of many of those lectures. Particular emphasis is paid to showcasing central ideas and displaying some of the many deep connections between the mentioned disciplines, all the time keeping a realistic pace for the student of the subject.

Engineering Interactive Systems 2007 is an IFIP working conference that brings together researchers and practitioners interested in strengthening the scientific foun- tions of user interface design, examining the relationship between software engine- ing (SE) and human–computer interaction (HCI) and on how user-centerd design (UCD) could be strengthened as an essential part of the software engineering process. Engineering Interactive Systems 2007 was created by merging three conferences: • HCSE 2007 – Human-Centerd Software Engineering held for the first time. The HCSE Working Conference is a multidisciplinary conference entirely dedicated to advancing the basic science and theory of human-centerd software systems engineering. It is organized by IFIP WG 13.2 on Methodologies for User-Centerd Systems Design. • EHCI 2007 – Engineering Human Computer Interaction was held for the tenth time. EHCI aims to investigate the nature, concepts, and construction of user interfaces for software systems. It is organized by IFIP WG 13.4/2.7 on User Interface Engineering. • DSV-IS 2007 – Design, Specification and Verification of Interactive Systems was held for the 13th time. DSV-IS provides a forum where researchers wo- ing on model-based techniques and tools for the design and development of - teractive systems can come together with practitioners and with those working on HCI models and theories.

The modern world has made available a wealth of new possibilities for interacting with computers, through advanced Web applications, while on the go with handheld smart telephones or using electronic tabletops or wall-sized displays. Developers of modern interactive systems face great problems: how to design applications which will work well with newly available technologies, and how to efficiently and correctly implement such designs. Design, Specification and Verification of Interactive Systems 2008 was the 15th of a series of annual workshops devoted to helping designers and implementers of interactive systems unleash the power of modern interaction devices and techniques. DSV-IS 2008 was held at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, during July 16–18, 2008. This book collects the best papers submitted to the workshop. There were 17 full papers, 10 late-breaking and experience report papers, and two demonstrations. Keynote presentations were provided by Judy Brown of Carleton University and Randy Ellis of Queen’s University. The first day of the workshop addressed the problems of user interface evaluation and specification, with particular emphasis on the use of task models to provide hi- level approaches for capturing the intended functionality of a user interface. Day two continued this theme, examining techniques for modeling user interfaces, particularly for mobile and ubiquitous applications. Presenters also discussed advanced implem- tation techniques for interactive systems. Finally, day three considered how to arc- tect interactive systems, and returned to the themes of evaluation and specification.

Usability engineering is about designing products that are easy to use. This text provides an introduction to human computer interaction principles, and how to apply them in ways that make software and hardware more effective and easier to use.