A methodological framework for the analysis and design of Adaptive Web-based Information Systems

Due to the growing popularity and complexity of the Web, designing a web site is becoming a complex and difficult process, that needs to be supported by more powerful Web engineering methods. In this paper, we present our ongoing research on defining a methodological framework for the analysis and design of Adaptive Web-based Information Systems (AWIS). Adaptive systems use knowledge about a particular user, represented in the user model, to adapt their information, organization, and presentation to that user. Our approach is driven by an elicited set of High Level Users Goals, which allows intended users to come closer to satisfying their specific needs and preferences. It is composed of a number of process step guidelines along with their respective product models, that enables the Web designer to model his/her AWIS at different levels of abstraction. Thus, an AWIS is modeled at the conceptual level as modular adaptive views over the Information Domain, the conceptual schemas are then transformed into a logical level representation, which enables the actual implementation of the AWIS.