The FUSE domain-aware approach to user model interoperability: A comparative study

Exchanging user information between multiple sources can potentially bring many benefits that enhance the user experience in software applications. Richer and more dynamic user models can be constructed allowing more tailoring of content and services to the specific needs of individual users. However, providing effective interoperability is a complex challenge as there can be significant heterogeneity between user models. Current generic approaches and tools offer insufficient support for the complex domain-specific nature of many user model interoperability tasks. This paper presents a comparative study of the FUSE domain-aware approach to user model interoperability. This novel approach differs from existing generic approaches by incorporating domain knowledge in new processes and tools to support complex user model interoperability tasks in multiple overlapping domains. The FUSE approach is described and compared to existing state of the art approaches using a consistent set of key issues in user model interoperability.