New collaborative white paper from #RebootingWebOfTrust on the topic “Five Mental Models of Identity”. Team led by @JoeAndrieu w/ Nathan George, @IDIMAndrew, @cmacintosh & Antoine Rondelet github.com/WebOfTrustInfo…
…”consider multiple mental models for better communication and better identity systems. Whatever your own goals, we believe you are more likely to achieve them if you can communicate clearly in terms others understand and can incorporate the needs of others into your own work.”
…”The question we are seeking to answer in this paper is the following: ‘When we are evaluating the evidence, what are we trying to determine?’. Each mental model approaches this differently.”
…”The space-time mental model sees identity as resolving the question of the physical continuity of an entity through space and time.
Does the physical body under evaluation have a continuous link through space and time to a known entity?”
Does the physical body under evaluation have a continuous link through space and time to a known entity?”
…”The presentation mental model sees identity as how we present ourselves to society. This is the mental model behind Vendor Relationship Management [16], user-centric identity, and self-sovereign identity.
Is this how the subject chooses to be known?”
Is this how the subject chooses to be known?”
…”The attribute mental model sees identity as the set of attributes related to an entity as recorded in a specific system. Enshrined in ISO/IEC 24760-1…standard for identity management, this mental model is the primary focus for many engineers.
Who is this data about?”
Who is this data about?”
…”The relationship model sees identity emerging through interactions and relationships with others. Our identity is not about what we are in isolation from others, but is rather defined by the relationships we have…Ubuntu…’I am because we are’.
How is this person related?”
How is this person related?”
…”The capability mental model pragmatically defines identity in terms of an individual’s actual capability to perform some task, including their physical ability now, in the past, or in the future…the inevitable approach for…an emergency.
What can the subject actually do?”
What can the subject actually do?”
…”When two people discuss identity with different mental models, the conversation inevitably focuses on the intersection between those models, sometimes without either party realizing they are coming from different perspectives.”
The paper adds commentary on the intersections between these models, and the misunderstandings that each pair of different identity models might introduce to a collaboration.
A very interesting and thoughtful paper that is very worth while to dive deeply into to help you and your team broaden your shared language and models about digital identity. 👍
