Location-Aware Adaptive Interfaces for Information Access with Handheld Computers

Abstract. Adpating to user context versus adapting to individual user features or behaviour patterns has been a topic of recent discussion. We believe both types of adaptation are valuable and the decision of which to apply, or how to combine the two, is domain or application specific. As an illustration, this paper presents two approaches to adapting the interface according to the type of user and the extent to which the user's task and location is predetermined.

Adaptive interfaces for mobile preference-based searching

Today's mobile computing devices provide a convenient means to search for points-of-interest (POIs) such as restaurants and accommodation. Mobile Preference-Based Search Tools (PBSTs) allow users to identify POIs such as restaurants or accommodation most suited to their needs and constraints using a mobile device. These devices however, have several design constraints including limited screen space and hardware capabilities. Adaptive User Interfaces (AUIs) have been proposed to address these issues but have not been extensively applied to mobile PBSTs such as mobile tourist guides. In addition, AUIs possess several benefits and advantages over static (traditional) interfaces, which do not take a user's preferences, skill set and experience into account. Little research, however, has been conducted into identifying the potential benefits of AUIs for mobile preference-based searching (PBS). The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which an AUI could improve the effectiveness and user satisfaction of mobile PBS. A literature study was conducted to determine the benefits and limitations of existing mobile PBSTs and determine how these could be improved. The potential benefits of AUIs for mobile PBSTs and a mobile map-based visualisation system were identified. A suitable model for incorporating an AUI into a mobile PBST was identified. The requirements for a mobile PBST were combined with the potentially adaptable objects of a Mobile Map-based Visualisation (MMV) system to provide adaptation suggestions for POInter, an existing mobile tourist guide. A field study using POInter was conducted in order to measure the extent to which participants agreed with suggestions provided for adapting the information, interaction and visualisation aspects of the system. These results were used to derive adaptation requirements for A-POInter, an adaptive version of POInter. Using a model-based design approach, an AUI was designed and implemented for A-POInter. An extensive field study was then conducted to evaluate the usability of the adaptations provided by A-POInter. The quantitative and qualitative data collected from the evaluations allowed the usability of A-POInter to be determined. The results of the field study showed that the participants were highly satisfied with the usability and the usefulness of the adaptations provided by A-POInter. Conclusions and recommendations for future work based on the results of the research were then outlined to conclude the dissertation