Evaluation of Two Fully Rugged Laptop Computers for the Forest Service, Page05

Evaluation of Two Fully Rugged Laptop Computers for the Forest Service

Choosing by Advantages

A matrix based on Choosing by Advantages was developed to determine which laptop rated higher based on Forest Service corporate needs. Both laptops performed identically on certain tests, such as moisture resistance. Disregarding tests with identical results, five attributes were given performance values between 1 and 100. These attributes were GPS accuracy, laptop performance (processor speed, 3-D graphics), battery life, screen visibility, and ruggedness. A survey was sent to representatives from the Law Enforcement and Investigation, Fire and Aviation, Research, and Chief Information Office Mobile Computing Programs asking them to rate the importance of these attributes to their job functions (scores of 1 to 100). The survey results were averaged to give an importance value for each attribute. The importance value was multiplied by the test score of each attribute and the products were added to yield an overall score for each laptop (table 3). The XR-1 laptop's results are based on the new DynaVue screen. The CF-30 laptop's overall score was 302. The XR-1 laptop's overall score was 274.

Table 3—Scores based on the Choosing by Advantages procedure. Five attributes were assigned importance values based on results from a survey. Test values were derived from performance testing with the highest performing laptop assigned a value of 100 percent. The total score is the sum of the products of the importance values multiplied by the test scores for each attribute.
Attribute	Measurement Value	Importance Value (average of survey results)	Relative Test Value	Score (importance value x relative value)	Relative Test Value	Score (importance value x relative value)
			XR-1 Laptop		CF-30 Laptop
GPS	Accuracy (based on average of all tests of GPS accuracies)	31	100 percent	31	50 percent	16
Performance	Benchmark tests (average of three benchmark performance software test scores)	58	100 percent	58	79 percent	46
Battery Life	Battery life tests (average of three Mobile Mark battery life test scores, CF-30 laptop at 1,000 nits)	80	54 percent	43	100 percent	80
Screen Visibility	Brightness and size (subjective score based on screen brightness and size, CF-30 laptop at 1,000 nits)	81	100 percent	81	90 percent	73
Ruggedness	Durability tests	87	70 percent	61	100 percent	87
			Total Score 274		Total Score 302