@inproceedings{MLBHL08,
  title = {{A Fluid Flow Approach to Usability Analysis of Multi-user Systems}},
  author = {{Mieke} {Massink} and {Diego} {Latella} and {Maurice H. ter} {Beek} and {Michael} {Harrison} and {Michele} {Loreti}},
  year = {2008},
  booktitle = {Engineering Interactive Systems 2008---Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Human-Centered Software Engineering (HCSE\\'08), Pisa, Italy},
  url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/q177157631311344.pdf},
  partner = {ISTI,DSIUF},
  main = {N},
  task = {T3.3},
  publisher = {Springer-Verlag, Berlin},
  series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
  volume = {5247},
  editor = {P. Forbrig and F. Paterno},
  pages = {166-180},
abstract ={The analysis of usability aspects of multi-user systems, such as cooperative
work systems and pervasive systems, pose particular problems because
group behavior of their users may have considerable impact on usability.
Model-based analysis of such features leads to state-space explosion because of
the sheer number of entities to be modeled when automatic techniques such as
model checking are used. In this paper we explore the use of a recently
proposed scalable model-based technique based on solving sets of Ordinary
Differential Equations (ODEs). Starting from a formal model specified using
the Performance Evaluation Process Algebra (PEPA), we show how different
groupware usage patterns may be modeled and analyzed using this approach.
We illustrate how the approach can explore different design options and their
impact on group behavior by comparing file access policies in the context of a
groupware application.}
}