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In-Depth Information
However, with passage of time, this baseline gets added further with the details of each
subsequent transaction.
We can also imagine an equivalent of the Global Positioning System for calibrating
the performance of enterprises. The coordinates of longitude, latitude, and altitude
might be replaced by ones of resource used, process performed, and product pro-
duced. If we designed a GPS for an enterprise, we could measure its performance
(e.g., cost or quality) in the context of the resource used, the process performed, and the
product delivered, as compared with its own performance in the past (last month or one year
back, etc.) or in particular cases, that of another target organization. Such an approach could
help us specify our targets, communicate our performance, and signal our strategy.
Most of the current context-aware systems have been built in an ad-hoc approach, and are
deeply influenced by the underlying technology infrastructure utilized to capture the context. To
ease the development of context-aware ubicomp (ubiquitous computing) and mobile applications,
it is necessary to provide universal models and mechanisms to manage context. Even though sig-
nificant efforts have been devoted to research methods and models for capturing, representing,
interpreting, and exploiting context information, we are still not close to enabling an implicit and
intuitive awareness of context, nor efficient adaptation to behavior at the standards of human com-
munication practice.
Context information can be a decisive factor in mobile applications in terms of selecting the
appropriate interaction technique. Designing interactions among users and devices, as well as
among devices themselves, is critical in mobile applications. Multiplicity of devices and services
calls for systems that can provide various interaction techniques and the ability to switch to the
most suitable one according to the user's needs and desires. Current mobile systems are not effi-
ciently adaptable to the user's needs. The majority of ubicomp and mobile applications try to
incorporate the users' profile and desires into the system's infrastructure either manually or auto-
matically observing their habits and history. According to the perspective being presented here,
the key point is to give them the ability to create their own mobile applications instead of just
customizing the ones provided.
Thus, mobile applications can be used not only for locating users and providing them with
suitable information, but also for
◾
Providing them with a tool necessary for composing and creating their own mobile
applications
◾
Supporting the system's selection of appropriate interaction techniques
◾
A selection of recommendation(s) and consequent action(s) conforming with the situational
constraints judged via the business logic and other constraints sensed via the context
◾
Enabling successful closure of the interaction (answer to a query, qualifying an objection,
closing an order, etc.)
14.9.1 Decision Patterns as Context
This chapter discusses location-based services applications as a particular example of context-
aware applications. But, context-aware applications can significantly enhance the efficiency and
