What is Context Analysis

Technology has to be fit for purpose in order to deliver its promised business impact. An important component of this is making sure technology offers its intended users the functionality they require in a manner appropriate to how they want to achieve their goals. This chapter presents an area of science, human factors, with particular relevance to developing and deploying business mobile systems that are fit for purpose. The value of human factors is discussed, before moving onto some general guidelines to ensure that a mobile technology is suitable for its users. Finally, each system, each application, and each user should be taken on their own merits. To achieve this, it is critical to take an approach that puts users at the heart of requirements, build and deployment of a new technology or service. This approach is presented as a three-stage model of context analysis, specification and design, and evaluation.