Knowledge Work in Context. User Centered Knowledge Worker Support.

Abstract

There is an increase in the number of burn-out complaints in knowledge workers. One of the causes is the ‘information overload‘ problem; people have to process a large amounts of information continuously. We need to make sure that knowledge workers can find and organize their information better in order to limit the consequences of this problem. For this purpose, we have developed an algorithm that allows us to understand which information a user needs at a specific point in time, without any intervention by the user. The algorithm accomplishes this by observing and interpreting the interactions of the user with the pc. Documents that fit the user’s activities are found automatically. An adapted version of the algorithm helps to organize the information in relevant categories automatically. This helps the user to feel in control and to find information more quickly.