Using Electronic Tools in the Iterative Design of a Context-Aware Tour Guide: A Case Study

We report on the iterative design of a context-aware tour guide. We employed an informal prototyping tool, Topiary, to help us in the early stage design of the system. By using this electronic support to rapidly prototype ideas and test the prototypes with end users in the field, we efficiently explored the usability issues of map-based navigation techniques. Based on the tests, which involved five different designs and two design iterations, and an analysis of implementation issues, we built a high fidelity prototype of the tour guide system. We describe our experience with this iterative design process as well as suggestions for the early stage design of context-aware applications. Author