Portme: Personal lifelong user modelling portal

Abstract

There are many potential sources of information that could contribute to a person's comprehensive and long term user model. However, these sources reside across many dierent desktop applications and internet services. This makes it is dicult for a person to exploit them in any combination that might be useful for them. PortMe is a personal lifelong user model framework, providing mechanisms for the user to create and manage their model, aggregating information sources such as pervasive computing sensors, online portals and direct user input. It provides a foundation for easily creating user model based interfaces and tools, both for personal reection and to drive applications. We validated PortMe by demonstrating how it can support: user denition of their user model, including the allowed sources of personal information and applications allowed to parts of the model. We identify two important classes of applications that are served by PortMe: mirror and personali- sation applications. Our contribution is a new form of user model framework that enables the individual user to create, maintain and exploit their own long term user model.