Evaluating the appropriateness of speech input in marine applications:a field evaluation

This paper discusses the first of three studies which collectively represent a convergence of two ongoing research agendas: (1) the empirically-based comparison of the effects of evaluation environment on mobile usability evaluation results; and (2) the effect of environment - in this case lobster fishing boats - on achievable speech-recognition accuracy. We describe, in detail, our study and outline our results to date based on preliminary analysis. Broadly speaking, the potential for effective use of speech for data collection and vessel control looks very promising - surprisingly so! We outline our ongoing analysis and further work

A Technique for Incorporating Dynamic Paths in Lab-Based Mobile Evaluations

Increasingly, lab evaluations of mobile applications are incorporating mobility. The inclusion of mobility alone, however, is insufficient to generate a realistic evaluation context since real-life users will typically be required to monitor their environment while moving through it. While field evaluations represent a more realistic evaluation context, such evaluations pose difficulties including data capture and environmental control which mean that a lab-based evaluation is often a more practical choice. This paper describes a novel evaluation technique that mimics a realistic mobile usage context in a lab setting. The technique requires that participants monitor their environment and change the route they are walking to avoid dynamically changing hazards (much as real-life users would be required to do). Two studies that employed this technique are described, and the results (which indicate the technique is useful) are discussed.Les \ue9valuations d'applications mobiles r\ue9alis\ue9es en laboratoire incorporent de plus en plus la mobilit\ue9. Cependant, l'inclusion de la seule mobilit\ue9 ne suffit pas \ue0 cr\ue9er un contexte d'\ue9valuation r\ue9aliste, car, dans la r\ue9alit\ue9, les utilisateurs doivent g\ue9n\ue9ralement surveiller leur environnement pendant qu'ils s'y d\ue9placent. Bien que les \ue9valuations sur le terrain se fassent dans un contexte plus r\ue9aliste, elles posent des difficult\ue9s, y compris la saisie de donn\ue9es et le contr\uf4le environnemental, ce qui signifie qu'une \ue9valuation en laboratoire constitue souvent un choix plus pratique. Cet article d\ue9crit une nouvelle technique d'\ue9valuation qui simule, en laboratoire, un contexte d'utilisation mobile r\ue9aliste. Avec cette technique, les participants doivent surveiller leur environnement et changer de parcours pour \ue9viter des dangers qui changent de fa\ue7on dynamique (tout comme devraient le faire des utilisateurs dans le monde r\ue9el). Nous d\ue9crivons \ue9galement deux \ue9tudes qui ont employ\ue9 cette technique, ainsi que les r\ue9sultats (qui indiquent que la technique est utile).NRC publication: Ye