A combination of techniques, such as agent technologies, user, task and
context modeling can be used to adapt a distributed application for mobile
users with Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and support seamless connection
and access to a centralized information system in areas of disconnection.
In a domain where users have typical tasks and information needs related
to these tasks it is possible, by keeping track of the users' current
context (time and location through the user schedule) and a user class
stereotype task model, to predict the user tasks and their information
needs and to adapt both the functionality and the presentation information
provided by the application. Two types of adaptation are important in
a domain where there is no reliable connection: hiding from the user the
disconnection and ensuring consistency of the data, which is added, deleted
or modified by the user on her device during periods of disconnection.
The target domain is the Saskatoon District Health Division, where homecare
workers provided with iPaq PDAs equipped with CDPD cards retrieve patient
information from centralized information system, make notifications for
schedule changes and add new data into the information system, e.g. file
reports. The prototype has been evaluated in a simulated environment with
the goal to see if it provides seamless connection and access to data
in conditions of disconnection.