Abstract: | The paper describes the modeling of a user's conceptual knowledge in the general user modeling shell system BGP-MS. On the one hand, BGP-MS is a workbench for the develment of a user model in a particular application domain. It supports the definition of the architecture of the individual user model, and of the architecture and the contents of user stereotypes. A rich representation language for conceptual knowledge, a partition mechanism, and flexible graphics-based interfaces are at the disposal of the user model developer. On the other hand, BGP-MS is a runtime user modeling tool aimed at fulfilling central tasks of a user modeling component in an application system. In this mode, the system offers a functional interface for accessing and updating the model of the current user, as well as basic domain-independent inference mechanisms, support for inferences defined by the developer, and a customizable stereotype management utility. The usefulness of BGP-MS will be demonstrated by illustrating how it can support the user modeling of various recently developed application systems. |