Some Uses of Experiments in Computer Science

1. Performance Evaluation (no human subjects)

   Workstation Design Study

   Which choices should be made:

   • CPU: Pentium, 80486, 80386
   • Memory size: 16M, 8M, 4M
   • Number of hard disk drives: 1, 2, 3, or 4
   • Workload: secretarial, managerial, scientific
   • User characteristics: high school, college, postgraduate

2. Interface Design, Product Evaluations (uses human subjects)

   User Interface Design Study

   Which choices should be made:

   • Organization: single window, multiple windows
   • Menu structure: hierarchical, flat
   • User experience: 0, 1-3, 3-12, 13 or more months
   • Tasks: well-defined, open ended

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