User modelling ecosystems: A user-centred approach

The recent exponential growth in mobile applications and the growing reliance on and awareness of ‘user models’ by end-users have led to the need to rethink the functional and end-user requirements of existing user modelling systems. This paper has two goals. Firstly, leveraging a functioning user modelling ecosystem that provides anywhere and anytime access to desktop-, web-, and mobile- applications, this paper identifies a current opportunity (and need) to enhance user interaction with existing user modelling frameworks, by extending beyond the stereotypical cloud-based user modelling approach to encompass also a client-based service and an accompanying synchronisation module. Secondly, we draw on an analysis of previous work and a small user study, to establish the need for a user-centred design focus for user modelling frameworks. We also identify functionality that end-users (rather than developers) need and want from a user modelling ecosystem.