As more and more things, sensors, appliances and devices are getting connected to the Internet, researchers of the Web of Things community have recently been exploring the use of the World Wide Web as a platform for smart objects. Such technology enables the creation of object-based applications mixing real-world objects that embed tiny Web servers with existing Web resources. To ensure the adoption of such applications, which potentially modify the behaviors of objects, it is needed that the overall system or architecture supports the mental models developed by users. In a paper presented at the second international workshop on the Web of Things (in conjunction with the ninth international conference on pervasive computing), we propose a definition of object-based applications based on the literature review and present a protocol aiming at better understanding users’ perception of smart environments. We present our preliminary results and highlight the need of creating intelligible systems and tools. Our presentation is available on Slideshare and embedded below: