An approach is provided for managing a quality of service (QoS) of an application running in a networked computing environment. Based on information received from monitoring devices or tools that monitor a state of a user, a model of a cognitive focus of attention of the user is generated. An actual QoS for a software application is determined. Based on the model, a perceived QoS is determined. A current usage by the user of software application is determined. Based on the model, the actual QoS, and the current usage, an adjustment to the actual QoS is determined, while maintaining unchanged the perceived QoS.