A methodology for evaluating multimodality in a home entertainment system

Multimodality is likely to play a key role in household technology interfaces of the future offering as it can, enhanced efficiency, improved flexibility and increased user preference. These benefits are unlikely to be realized however unless such interfaces are well designed specifically with regard to modality allocation and configuration. We report on a methodology aimed at evaluating modality usage, which involves a combination of two sets of heuristics, one derived from a description of modality properties, the other concerned with issues of usability. We describe how modality properties can be reformulated into a procedural style checklist and then describe the implementation of this methodology and the issues we were able to highlight in the context of the EMBASSI 'Home' system, a multimodal system which aims to provide a natural and intuitive interface to a potentially open-ended array of appliances within the home.