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System-user interaction traces were collected on a Sharp Zaurus
SL-5500 PDA. We inserted at the beginning and end
of the event handlers in the benchmark applications and recorded
the timing. This record traces when the system finishes its
response and when it starts processing an incoming event and
changes state, triggered by a user input. The state name,
actually, the event handler name, is also recorded. With regard to
accuracy, reports time in microseconds. Moreover,
according to the timing method, the delay of the system in
generating an event after receiving a user input is counted as
part of the user delay instead of the system busy time. In our
experience, the error this introduces is negligible compared to
the delay for event processing.
Two users participated in trace collection. One is a male graduate
student majoring in Engineering while the other is a female
graduate student majoring in Social Sciences. Both are veteran
computer users. Before trace collection, they were already
familiar with real calculators and the usage of software similar
to the file browser. The male user was also familiar with the
Patience game in Solitaire. The female user was not. Neither of
them knew how to play Go. They were given oral instructions on how
to operate the PDA and use the benchmark applications. They were
also given time to play with the benchmark applications on the PDA
to get acquainted with them. Then they were asked to complete the
tasks as described in Table 2 in an office environment.
Table 2:
Tasks for usage trace collection
Benchmark |
Task |
Calculator |
Compute a formula with three two-digit numbers and two operations |
Filebrowser |
Find a given file in the local storage |
Go |
Play a new game for several minutes |
Solitaire |
Play a new
Patience game for several minutes |
Each user was asked to perform the tasks once per day and for a
total of three days. Therefore, for each user and task, three
traces were collected. The total length of time of traces for each
benchmark and user is given in Table 1.
The benchmark source code for trace collection can be downloaded
from [1].
Next: System power model
Up: Benchmarks and Experimental Results
Previous: Benchmarks
Lin Zhong
2003-12-20