The ConWIZ protocol: A generic protocol for wizard of Oz simulations

Abstract

Wizard of Oz studies, where a human replaces a system's functionality, are often applied in evaluations focusing on the area of UbiComp, pervasive, and mobile Contexts. One of the major problems for such studies is that the Wizard of Oz system is usually developed as a throw-away system and needs to be developed for each study separately. We address this by investigating in a generic approach to conduct Wizard of Oz studies enabled by the ConWIZ framework.The ConWIZ protocol, which defines the communication requirements necessary for this approach, is defined to ensure a generic and generally applicable way of setting up and conducting Wizard of Oz studies. It allows to control the Wizard of Oz prototype as well as objects residing in the environment. We applied and evaluated the protocol in contextual studies and showed the applicability of the protocol within laboratory and mobile settings. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.