Techniques for determining situational patterns of use of
computing systems are disclosed. A situational pattern of use can be determined based on the situations encountered by the computing
system as the situations occur without having to predefine a set of situations. Generally, a situation can be determined and / or defined based on the context of use of the computing
system when the use occurs. The context of use can, for example, be determined based on internal and external variables including the physical environment where a device is used and
biological data associated with a person who uses the device. The state of use of the computing
system can, for example, be determined based on the state (or status) of one or more components of the computing system (e.g., the state of one or more active applications that are being used by person). Similar to the context of use, the state of use can be determined as the use occurs without having to predefine potential uses of the computing system (e.g., there is no need to predefine or know the applications that will be used on a device). Moreover, the state of use can be connected to context of use defining a situation in which the state of use has occurred to allow determining a pattern of use of the computing system at least based on the association of the state of use with the situation effectively defined by the contextual
usage data which can be obtained as and when the use occurs.