Inspectable User Models for Just-In-Time Workplace Training

Workplace training is most effective when the training happens just in time as part of a worker’s regular job activities. We are developing a just-in-time training system called PHelpS (Peer Help System) which can select peer helpers with whom the worker can interact. User modelling is central in the PHelpS system. For each worker, a user model is kept containing several kinds of information about the worker, in particular a knowledge profile of how well they can carry out various specific tasks. These user models permit the system to select a knowledgeable, available, and appropriate set of helpers if a worker signals that he or she needs help in carrying out a particular task. Many interesting user modelling issues arise in this work, most importantly employing the same user model in multiple ways, making the user models inspectable by a variety of users, doing knowledgebased matching and retrieval, and maintaining the accuracy of the user model over time. There are several social issues that this research has also exposed.