Towards a framework to support novice users in understanding and monitoring of Home Area Networks

Advances in Home Area Network (HAN) technologies have afforded end users increased convenience in performing everyday activities. However, even seemingly trivial issues can cause great annoyance for the novice user who lacks domain expertise of often complex HANs that underpin these advances. A key challenge lies in assisting novice users in understanding and monitoring of the obscure and complex HAN. This research proposes a framework to leverage domain expert knowledge to enable real time semantic up-lift in supporting novice end-users to understand and monitor the home area network. This presents a significant opportunity to increase user satisfaction and reduce associated support costs. This semantic approach has been designed and implemented in an early prototype of our Home Area Network Monitoring System (HANMS). This paper presents a detailed description of the current state of the research, an initial evaluation, and future work.