Contextual evaluation framework: a prototype evaluation technique for e-Research

Grace de la Flor ( OUCL )

This talk will present research that has led to the development of a novel Requirements Engineering technique, the Contextual Evaluation Framework (CEF). The CEF is designed specifically for the e-Research community in order to provide project members with a rigorous and systematic approach to the assessment of software prototypes.

The technique is ethnomethodologically-informed in that the focus of analysis is on understanding the ways in which the participants themselves come to a mutual understanding of how a prototype system functions as a tool that they can use as part of their ordinary, daily routine work activities.

The CEF specifically focuses on the analysis of an e-Research system's 'recognizability' as a tool that is in some manner familiar to researchers. This familiarity does not need to map exactly to the ways in which work is currently conducted. However, familiarity is necessary in order for researchers to make sense of what the system has to offer and for understanding the ways in which it would support their substantive research, collaborative activities and work practices.