D. Lowe and M. Gaedke (Eds.): ICWE 2005, LNCS 3579, pp. 478488, 2005. ' Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005 As Easy as Click: End-User Web Engineering Jochen Rode 1 , Yogita Bhardwaj 1 , Manuel A. PØrez-Quiæones 1 , Mary Beth Rosson 2 , and Jonathan Howarth 1 1 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Center for Human-Computer Interaction 3160 Torgersen Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061 {jrode,yogitab,jhowarth}@vt.edu, perez@cs.vt.edu 2 Pennsylvania State University, Information Sciences & Technology, 330 IST Building, University Park, PA 16802 mrosson@ist.psu.edu Abstract. We are investigating the feasibility of end-user web engineering. The main target audience for this research is webmasters without programming ex- perience  a group likely to be interested in building web applications. Our tar- get domain is web-based data collection and management applications. As an instrument for studying the mental models of our audience and collecting re- quirements for an end-user web programming tool, we are developing Click, a proof-of-concept prototype. We discuss end-user related aspects of web engi- neering in general and describe the design rationale for Click. In particular, we elaborate on the need for supporting evolutionary prototyping and opportunistic and ad hoc development goals. We also discuss strategies for making end-user web engineering scalable and for encouraging end-user developers to continu- ally increase their level of sophistication. 1 Introduction Years after the introduction of CGI-scripting, the creation of a web application is still difficult, requiring a broad range of skills. Professional programmers develop the skills needed to create interactive web applications, but most nonprogrammers en- gaged in web development are limited to the creation of static websites. We believe that with the right tools and techniques even nonprogrammers may be able to develop web applications. By making web development possible for a wider audience, we may see a greater variety of useful applications being developed, including function- ality not yet envisioned. For organizations unable or unwilling to hire professional programmers, end-user development may help streamline work flows and increase productivity and client satisfaction. Indeed, the WWW itself is an excellent example of what happens when technology becomes accessible to "the rest of us". In the words of Deshpande and Hansen [6], it is time for the web engineering community to de- vise methods and processes to assist end users which would help to increase the reliability of applications and release the creative power of people. Apart from empowering end users to pursue new goals, the web engineering com- munity should also be considering how best to help novice developers create websites that are more secure, cross-platform-compatible, and universally accessible. User- friendly but dangerously powerful" web programming languages like PHP [15] are becoming popular even among people who do not have the necessary training and experience to develop web applications of high quality. Harrison [10] calls this the