| As mobile Human Computer Interaction matures as a discipline, a number of novel evaluation approaches for mobile technologies are emerging. Currently, however, there is no generally agreed consensus on how best to evaluate mobile technologies. The benefit in terms of validity and usefulness of lab-based versus field-based evaluations of mobile applications is a subject of considerable ongoing debate. The infancy of the discipline means that there is currently relatively little literature or empirical data available on the effect of evaluation environment on the results obtained during empirical assessments. As such, this debate is often viewed as a matter of opinion.;The research presented in this thesis document had two objectives: (1) to determine the efficacy of speech as an accurate data-input mechanism for mobile applications in marine environments (specifically, lobster fishing vessels); and (2) to investigate the effect of evaluation environment on results obtained during empirical assessments. This thesis document describes a tri-study comparison of field and lab-based evaluation approaches within our complex context of use. We demonstrate that it is possible to conduct a meaningful, and thus a contextually relevant, lab-based evaluation of user performance of a mobile system designed to be used within a contextually rich and complex, real-world environment. Furthermore, our results strongly support the potential for effective use of speech for data collection and vessel control onboard lobster fishing vessels. |
