Ontology-Based User Modeling

Abstract

What are the key success factors for a knowledge management system (KMS), and how to design and implement successful knowledge management systems, are topical research areas. We argue that designing effective knowledge management systems requires not only a focused view, which is achieved by considering organizational imperatives and technological solutions, but it also benefits from a larger perspective that considers a user-centered design, the individual needs of the users (e.g. work tasks, responsibilities), individual motivational drivers, usability and ergonomics issues. This article emphasizes the role of user models and user modeling within Ontology-based Knowledge Management System (OKMS), integrating a highly interdisciplinary approach. It shows how user models, models of the knowledge workers and user modeling processes can be applied in the context of knowledge management systems. An ontology-based user modeling approach is proposed and concrete examples of how ontology-based inferences can be used for expertise modeling are provided. This chapter emphasizes the importance of using ontology-based representations for modeling the users and providing enhanced user support and advanced features in KMSs.