Adaptive Hypermedia for Support Systems
Gernoth Grunst
German National Research Center for C.S.

presented by: David Mark Carlson

System: HyPLAN
Goal: Adaptive help for non-trivial computer application.



What is HyPLAN?

Domain: Excel  (Nontrivial - 
heterogeneous, open-ended).


- Help system does not change user's view of Excel (ExcelInExcel).

- Provides task sensitive help (as recognized by the PLANET system).

- Help is presented in hypertext format (HyTask).



ExcelInExcel

- Layer above Excel, captures user actions and passes them to loging
mechanism as well as to Excel.

- Semi-interesting hack (built on macro system of Excel so it is not
general).

PLANET

Goal:
Recognize what the user is trying to do.

- Events from ExcelInExcel are recorded and entered into trees.

- Experts have generated trees which represent tasks.  

- PLANET does pattern recognition to determine top 5 plans and uses
these as the entrypoint into HyTASK.
 
figure 4




HyTASK

- Stand-alone hypertext help facility.
- Developed in Hypercard, moved to MediaTracks.
- Immediate focus is on "how to do" animations.
- Supplemented with "how it works" illustrations.

 figure 5




Why is this paper interesting?

- System uses plan recognition. Been there.
- Help is presented using hypertext. Done that.

Interesting facet of this paper is the focus on 
usability and use of HCI methodology.

Methodology:
Early focus on users, iterative design, rapid 
prototyping.

(Think Aloud Protocols)



User Population:
Casual users who have learned the basics, but 
forgotten most everything.

Early Prototype:
Human expert provides help.

"Human model is the most advanced example of 
cognitive estimation competence."

Results:
- (semi) clear goals.
- Ability to start work before AI successfully mimics 
human intelligence.

BIG Result:
Allows focus on how Adaptive systems should  be 
before they are built.




Learned (among other things):

How to do hypertext.
reduce text, animation must be good.

How to recognize plans.
significant functions, inaccuracy, utilization of error 
messages.

How to intervene:
Don't.  Users are annoyed by human intervention, 
machine intervention could not be significantly 
better.
Users must self-asses.