The INEX Evaluation Initiative

The widespread use of the extensible Markup Language (XML) on the Web and in Digital Libraries brought about an explosion in the development of XML tools, including systems to store and access XML content. As the number of these systems increases, so is the need to assess their benefit to users. The benefit to a given user depends largely on which aspects of the user’s interaction with the system are being considered. These aspects, among others, include response time, required user effort, usability, and the system’s ability to present the user with the desired information. Users then base their decision whether they are more satisfied with one system or another on a prioritised combination of these factors.