Unveiling the Use of Ontologies in Adaptive User Interface Systems Development: A Systematic Mapping Study

Ontologies have been used in software development to aid in several contexts. Aiming to investigate whether and how ontologies have been used to develop adaptive user interface (AUI) systems, we performed a systematic mapping study. A total of 165 publications were identified, of which 30 address AUI system development with the aid of ontologies. After grouping complementary works, 23 proposals were analyzed. Twelve research questions were defined to investigate the distribution of publications over the years and types of vehicles, the research types, and the following aspects: (i) the use of ontologies to aid in developing AUI systems and (ii) the used ontologies. As a result, we noticed that ontologies have primarily been used to provide a conceptual foundation for organizing elements like user profiles, devices, and context of use, supporting dynamic user interface adaptations mainly in the implementation phase. Most ontologies are operational, with Ontology Web Language as the predominant language, covering domains like Context of Use, Devices, and User Profile. Reusing other ontologies has not been prominent, but some works have done so, and the use of fundamental ontologies to ground the developed ontologies has not been a concern. The results highlight the need to explore systematic ontology-based methods that support the reuse and application of ontologies in the development of AUI systems.