Partitioned Frame Networks for Multi-Level, Menu-Based Interaction

Menu-based systems have continued to flourish because they present a simple interaction format that is adaptable to many diverse applications. The continued integration of menu-based interaction with increasingly sophisticated software systems, however, is resulting in complex, monolithic frame networks with several undesirable characteristics. This paper presents a novel approach to frame network construction and menu-based interaction for application systems that support user task specifications. The approach is based on partitioning the conventional, monolithic frame network into a set of hierarchically structured, disjoint networks that preserves the original network topology while reducing its overall complexity and size. Moreover, by providing a menu-based interaction scheme that exploits this hierarchical structure, one can realize a system that supports a "top-down" approach to user task specification and user interaction at varying levels of sophistication.