Software engineering for adaptive hypermedia systems: reference model, modeling techniques and development process

This PhD thesis focuses on the development of “personalised” hypermedia applications. Personalisation, also called customisation or adaptation, is the process, which – when applied to software – consists of a change in the behaviour of the software system based on the knowledge the system has of the user. This knowledge can be supplied by the users themselves or by the software system, which is prepared to observe and register the user’s behaviour. Software systems with the capability to acquire information about the user, to build a user model with it, and to utilise the user model to dynamically adapt themselves are called adaptive systems. Adaptive hypermedia systems (AHS) are both adaptive and hypermedia systems. They combine hypermedia with Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) guidance, through the adaptation of the information presented to the user, the layout of the presentation or the way in which the information units are visited, i.e. how navigation is performed.