{"id":4674,"date":"2020-12-21T09:18:57","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T08:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-beta.easydoccontents.com\/2020\/12\/21\/using-access-management-authentication-to-design-personalised-user-content\/"},"modified":"2021-03-18T13:45:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T12:45:21","slug":"using-access-management-authentication-to-design-personalised-user-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easydoccontents.com\/en\/2020\/12\/21\/using-access-management-authentication-to-design-personalised-user-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Access Management (Authentication) to Design Personalised User Content"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you store user data based on logins to your software, you\u2019re in a position to dive deeper into contextual embedded help. User data can drive your embedded content, providing more relevant information for each user. In this article, we\u2019ll talk about using data derived from authenticated users to design personalised user content.<\/p>\n

Authentication refers to the login process in which each user is identified with a username and password. In recent years, we\u2019ve seen more software companies adding contextual access to traditional authentication methods.<\/p>\n

The information gleaned using contextual access can also be used to drive content.<\/p>\n

What is user access management?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s define each type of authentication generally.<\/p>\n

Traditional Authentication: Users are created and assigned roles as well as a username and password. Users are given access based on the authentication of an assigned username and password. Each role has a predefined level of access.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contextual Access: Access requests are granted or denied based on user context. Also referred to as Adaptive Access.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What factors determine contextual access?<\/h2>\n

Theoretically, any type of information you can gather about the user could be considered during authentication. Commonly, these factors can include geo-location, device verification, proximity, IP address, location velocity and time.<\/p>\n

What are typical use cases for contextual\/adaptive access?<\/h2>\n

Typically, companies will use contextual access management to reduce risk by determining an overall risk factor. In an environment where employees work remotely or must access sensitive data outside of company walls, contextual access management allows user context to determine risk.<\/p>\n

You can see an example of this when you try to sign into your Google<\/em> account while traveling. If Google<\/em> notes that you are logging in from an unknown device, an unknown IP address or a geographical location that is different from your usual access location, Google<\/em> may ask you to sign in again using your password. You\u2019ll usually get an email from Google<\/em> notifying you that your account was accessed under unusual circumstances.<\/p>\n

Contextual access management in user journeys<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve talked a lot about user journeys, especially in relation to context (and personas). Delivering users the right information at the right time implies knowing the user\u2019s context.<\/p>\n

For a discussion on context, see Contextual Information for Software<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using the same data you gather for contextual access, you can design software help that delivers a more personal user experience. Think about the things you can determine when a user logs in to your software.<\/p>\n

First, you know who the user is. You can probably call them by name. While this may seem simplistic, calling users by name is the beginning of developing loyalty.<\/p>\n

You may have gathered other information about the user in the registration process. Leverage this information in software help to provide a more personal experience.<\/p>\n

Using authentication, you can know whether this is the user\u2019s first time, fifth time or 100th<\/sup> time logging in to your software. The information you deliver should change over time, based on user experience or other factors affected by the number of logins. You can also know how long it\u2019s been since the user\u2019s last login. Such information can inform your content.<\/p>\n

Using APIs to gather user context<\/h2>\n

Depending on your system, you may need extra tools to gather information about users (with their consent, of course). Various products have APIs that allow you to connect your authentication process and gather additional data.<\/p>\n

For example, some APIs allow you to enhance data based on users\u2019 social activity. A sentiment API will allow you to monitor negative and positive user comments in reference to your software.<\/p>\n

The Google Awareness API<\/a> for app developers gathers basic context based on time, geo-location, place and place type (such as a business name), activity (such as motion), nearby places, headphone use and weather conditions. Maybe your software has important information to share on rainy days!<\/p>\n

The Orion Context Broker<\/a> is an open-source implementation for the FIWARE API. The context broker allows you to manage the lifecycle of context factors. You can query real-time data from public or private context providers. For example, you can query traffic information, temperature, water currents, stock prices, or any system that provides real-time data streams from sensors or data sets.<\/p>\n

Using triggers to drive content<\/h2>\n

Once you know your user\u2019s context, think about triggers that allow content to be personalised to the user\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve seen a trigger before. When you try to delete something from an app or software, you get a message that asks, \u201cAre you sure you want to delete this?\u201d In this case, the simplified context is that a user is deleting something, and the software recognizes this trigger and sends a message to the user.<\/p>\n

Imagine a more complex trigger, coupled with user access management:<\/p>\n