Visual Annotations for Hybrid Graph-based User Model

Structured user model data not only allow system personalization, but also may be of interest as a source for analysis: in particular, for the study of general trends and for the detection of anomalies in preferences and mutually-referenced features among different user models. Such sources are multidimensional and interrelated, and recently started to be represented as graph-based datasets. Among the most effective ways of studying such data is visual exploration based on data-driven graph drawing approaches: in particular, node-link and node-link-group diagrams. The paper provides an overview of advanced approaches to the graphical representation of multidimensional data derived from user modeling and presents a proposal for developing flexible and scalable user interfaces for the hypergraph-based visual exploration of relations within a user model (UM). Then, we propose these principles in the visualization of an existing adaptive system.