Evaluation of Mobile Systems - An Integrative Framework

This work presents an integrative framework for the evaluation of mobile systems. In comparison to stationary systems, mobile systems have a bundle of specific singularities that should be considered for evaluation. Further analysis of existing approaches clarifies that an integrative approach for mobile systems is needed considering, besides 1) monetary and 2) qualitative effects, also 3) interdependencies as well as 4) singularities of mobile systems and 5) critical success factors in order to predict the potential system performance. In the construction of the integrative framework we take 1) business/IT-alignment theory, 2) systems theory and 3) identified singularities as starting points, while taking a behavioral science research approach. The resulting framework consists of three main principles (detailed organization-internal evaluation, detailed economic evaluation, integrative evaluation) for a mobile system at hand. We validate the framework by successfully applying it in practical cases. The paper ends with conclusions and implications for further research.