Adaptive multimedia access:: From user needs to semantic personalisation

We discuss the use of a reliable user requirements methodology for gathering essential data relating to user needs in advanced, personalised multimedia content applications. We revise the implications of these requirements in the development of advanced personalised searching and browsing tools aimed at assisting the end-consumer by complementing explicit user requests with implicit user preferences, to better meet individual user needs. We examine the important technical challenges such as representing conceptual-level user interests, and coping with the subtleties of user preferences, such as variability and heterogeneity, which we see as critical for the success of personalisation techniques. We consider the fact that personalisation is not always appropriate, and it is sometimes preferable to disable it to avoid obtrusiveness.