PURPOSE AND CONTEXT: SELECTING MULTIPLE METHODS FOR EVALUATING A PILOT PUBLIC INFORMATION TERMINAL

摘要

In developing new technological solutions a pilot study provides an important opportunity to evaluate usability and to learn more about the user requirements. We report here on a multi-modal approach adopted to serve the dual requirement to evaluate the current pilot design and to elicit future user requirements. Our evaluation made use of log records, and deployed a number of indirect evaluation methods to analyse usability issues. In addition documentary evidence was used to define the user profiles from which scenarios were developed to examine the specific requirements of the target user group and task demands of a "fit for purpose" evaluation. The methods applied in the case study are examined in relation to the Acquisition of REquirements (ACRE) framework (Maiden and Rugg, 1996) in order to explore issues of purpose and context affecting the selection of methods.