SGER: Personalization by Partial Evaluation

Information personalization refers to the automatic adjustment of information content, structure, and presentation tailored to an individual user. The goal of this research project is to develop a modeling methodology for information personalization. The methodology developed in this project termed PIPE ('Personalization is Partial Evaluation') makes no commitments to a particular personalization algorithm or format for information resources. Instead it emphasizes the representation of information systems in a way that allows their subsequent personalization. With this methodology, web sites and other information resources can be modeled and personalized for users' information-seeking goals. The specific activities conducted in this project include (1) characterizing the types of information systems for which this methodology is applicable and (2) constructing 'personable' information system designs. The first activity is approached by defining how information systems are constructed and the representations they afford. The second activity involves the definition of a 'personability' metric for evaluating information system designs. Human-computer interaction methodologies and systematic procedures for evaluation need to be enhanced to provide the needed input for the model formulation and validation. The results of this project will help define 'personable information spaces' rigorously. With a formal model for personalization, we can design better information systems that can help users achieve their information-seeking goals.