THE USEFULNESS OF MOBILE MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS - A CASE-STUDY

To design new technologies, such as mobile multimedia communications, in a proper way, early assessment of their usefulness and requirements is needed. However, early assessment still lacks a sound methodology. This article presents an early assessment method that has been develo ped in a case study on the usefulness of mobile multimedia communicati ons. After the introduction, the method will be briefly explained. The method consists of the following stages: preliminary investigation, a nalysis, scenario development, workshop evaluation, and simulation. Th ese stages contain the aspects and consequences of the reference model that has been explained in the introduction of this volume: (1) the i nvolvement of stakeholder groups; (2) the multi-facet approach to the development and evaluation of telematics applications; (3) the importa nt role of theoretical notions in the development process; (4) the imp ortance of a multi-disciplinary team. A case study in the area of emer gency medicine will be presented, focusing on the usefulness of mobile multimedia communications. Finally, conclusions will be drawn from th e case study. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.