Classification Procedures for Software Evaluation

We outline a methodological classification for evaluation approaches of software in general. This classification was initiated partly owing to involvement in a biennial European competition (the European Academic Software Award, EASA) which was held for over a decade. The evaluation grid used in EASA gradually became obsolete and inappropriate in recent years, and therefore needed to be revised. In order to do this, it was important to situate the competition in relation to other software evaluation procedures. A methodological perspective for the classification is adopted rather than a conceptual one, since a number of difficulties arise with the latter. We focus on three main questions: what to evaluate? how to evaluate? and who evaluates? The classification is therefore hybrid: it allows one to account for the most common evaluation approaches and is also an observatory. Two main approaches are differentiated: system and usage. We conclude that any evaluation always constructs its ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: LREC
• Authors: Muriel Amar, Sophie David, Rachel Panckhurst, Lisa Whistlecroft
• Keywords: Education, Evaluation, Evaluation Approaches, LREC 2008, Methodological Classification