A schema-based device service that provides centralized access to per-user
device data, wherein access to the device data is based on each user's
identity. The device service includes a schema that defines rules and a
structure for each user's data, and also includes methods that provide
access to the data in a defined way. The device schema thus corresponds
to a logical document containing the data for each user. A service such
as a notification/alerts service accesses data in the logical document by
data access requests through defined methods, such as in order to
customize or modify a notification for a device based on the device
characteristics. In one implementation, the device schemas are arranged
as XML documents, and the services provide methods that control access to
the data based on the requesting user's identification, defined role and
scope for that role.