Performance Evaluation Procedure Research Articles

Emulator-type load-based tests for dynamic performance characterization of air conditioners

Current air-conditioning performance evaluation procedures are based on experimental tests conducted at a fixed compressor speed while deactivating the native control system to simplify data acquisition and ensure reproducibility of the results. Conversely, the actual operation of air conditioners responds to thermal loads with variable or cyclic modulations of the compressor speed and expansion valve opening according to the native control system.This study aimed to establish a new reproducible and representative methodology for evaluating the dynamic performance of air conditioners. The developed emulator-type dynamic performance testing facility features hybrid characteristics consisting of an emulator, which is used to simulate the dynamic response of indoor and outdoor environments, and the hardware of a testing facility for performance measurement. This study demonstrates the integrity of the constructed testing facility and the ability of the emulator-type testing methodology to determine the dynamic performance of an air conditioning unit using its native control system, in response to variations in the room-side environment.

Experiment-based performance evaluation framework for isolated structures in underground subway station–soil–aboveground structure interaction system under seismic excitations

Owing to the complementary functions of aboveground and underground structures, the complex structure group has been practically applied in many real-world situations. For the aboveground structures, isolation technology is widely adopted as an efficient approach to improve their seismic performances. However, being limited to the isolation effectiveness and design of the single isolated structures, previous studies have ignored the inevitable influence of the underground structure–soil–aboveground structure interaction (USSI) on the aboveground structure. This study proposes a performance evaluation framework for the isolated structures facilitated by a sliding bearing that considers the USSI. A series of shaking table tests and numerical simulations are performed to establish a reference database of the proposed framework. The performance evaluation procedure is detailed for the USSI system, based on which the seismic performances are investigated for experimental and numerical models. Following the proposed framework, the influences of various soil conditions, sliding bearing parameters, and seismic excitations are systematically quantified, while emphasizing the necessity of the USSI in this study. The results show that the isolated structure in this case not only significantly improves the multiple seismic responses in terms of acceleration, displacement, and layer drift but also performs adequately in weakening the negative effect from the underground station. According to the parametric analysis results, the seismic performances of the isolated structure in the USSI system are extremely sensitive to the soil type, friction coefficient, spring stiffness, and input frequency, which can be generally incorporated into the proposed performance evaluation framework.

Development and Performance Evaluation of a Mini-potentiostat for Corrosion Experimentations

The exorbitant cost of laboratory equipment is chiefly responsible for the dearth of corrosion characterization equipment in material science laboratories of Universities from Sub-Saharan Africa and that of other developing countries across the globe. It has therefore become germane to exploit available resources for development of affordable potentiostat within the university community. In this work, detailed procedure and working principles for design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a portable and inexpensive microcontroller-based potentiostat are presented. PROTEUS® software was used for the design of the parent circuit board. Graphical User Interface (GUI) developed using Visual Studio and Origin PRO Software was used for acquisition of experimental results. Performance evaluation of the potentiostat was implemented by performing corrosion experiments in 5 wt.% NaCl solution using mild steel as a working electrode (WE). Ag/AgCl reference electrode (RE) was used as well as Platinum wire as the counter electrode (CE). The analysis of the working electrode potential against the log of current-density plot at a scan rate of 10 mV/s of the fabricated potentiostat revealed a Tafel plot that is in conformity with results from commercially available potentiostats.

An integrated conceptual framework of the glass ceiling effect

PurposeThis study aims to undertake an in-depth analysis of glass ceiling literature and suggest some directions for future research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the glass ceiling literature was carried out using academic databases like Scopus, EbscoHost and Proquest.FindingsSocial and cultural stereotypes give rise to individual barriers in the form of lack of selfconfidence and lack of ambition for managerial posts. Social norms also create organizational barriers in the form of “think manager think male” stereotype and discriminatory corporate policies. These organizational barriers further lower the self-confidence of women and exaggerate work-family conflict. Policy barriers in the form of lack of stringent laws and policies also create glass ceiling for women employees. Glass ceiling leads to various consequences which have been further classified as organizational and individual level consequences. The study also highlights that contextual variables like level of education, age, social class, marital and motherhood status influence the perceptions towards the role of different factors in creating glass ceiling.Practical implicationsThis review highlights that though several levels of barriers exist for women aspiring for a managerial position, the main problem lies in conscious and unconscious stereotypes that often find their way in the organizations through gendered culture and gender discriminatory corporate practices. Therefore, organizations should firstly work on reorienting the attitudes of its employees towards women employees by conducting gender sensitization programmes for all the employees at the workplace. These gender sensitization programmes should aim at making people aware about the unconscious stereotypes that somehow find way in their speech and actions. Secondly, the organizations should work on extending the family friendly programmes to every employee irrespective of gender and every one should be encouraged to avail those policies so that female employees do not suffer from bias due to lack of visibility. Thirdly, organizations should work on introducing scientific procedures for performance evaluation to ensure removal of any form of bias during the process of appraisal. By creating a positive and equitable work environment for women employees, firms can combat their feelings of stress and burnout and can significantly improve their bottomline. The positive steps that will be taken by organizations will put forward a positive example for the society as well.Originality/valueEven though more than three decades have passed since the term “glass ceiling” made inroads in the management literature, till date, there has been no study that holistically reviews various dimensions of glass ceiling literature. Hence, this is the first study that systematically reviews the existing literature on glass ceiling. Based on the review, the study also proposes an integrated conceptual framework highlighting interrelationship between various causes and consequences of glass ceiling and sheds light on the directions along which future studies can be carried out.

The life-cycle cost analysis based on probabilistic optimization using a novel algorithm

Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) in combination with structural optimization is a reliable procedure for performance evaluation of structures during their lifetime. The Endurance Time, which is a dynamic analysis method, requires low computation efforts, unlike other commonly related methods. The population-based, stochastic search algorithm based on the ideal gas molecular movement (IGMM) has established its capability in solving complex numerical and engineering problems. Therefore, the LCCA-based probabilistic optimization of a 3D RC structure is carried out based on the FEMA-P-58 using the ET method and the IGMM algorithm to find the global optimum design. The results show that the repair costs of flexural connections and structural elements have the largest share in the life cycle costs because these elements, especially flexural connections, play an essential role in the damage of structures under seismic loads. Based on the results, the use of the optimization process leads to the proper distribution of materials in the structures, and also it can reduce the lifetime repair costs by 12% and the total construction costs by 8.5% without increasing the initial costs of construction.

Optimal selection of scalar and vector-valued seismic intensity measures based on Gaussian Process Regression

Intensity measure (IM) represents the power of ground motion, and its ability to describe the characteristics of ground motion plays a vital role in seismic risk and damage assessment. Therefore, the selection of optimal IM has always been one of the focuses of researchers in seismic engineering. The performance metrics based on regression or non-parametric methods, including efficiency, sufficiency, proficiency, and practicality, have been widely applied to select the optimal IM in past studies. This paper proposes a new procedure for performance evaluation of IM based on the Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), which can deal with the linear or nonlinear demand-IM relationship, and scalar or vector-valued IM. Two novel criteria, including G-Precision and G-Sufficiency, have also been developed to present the prediction accuracy and sufficiency of IM, combined with the concept of generalization performance in machine learning to update the existing metrics. A practical algorithm called Sequential Floating Feature Selection (SFFS) is proposed to automatically find the optimal vector-valued IM from a set of candidates. The proposed method can be integrated with multi-dimensional seismic fragility analysis to determine the optimal IM input, either scalar or vector-valued. Finally, the proposed procedure is demonstrated and discussed on a three-span continuous girder bridge.

An Integrated Approach to Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Performance Evaluation by Incorporating Local Demographic Features

Recycling municipal solid waste has become a challenging task for municipalities. Appropriate recycling efficiency evaluations are, thus, essential to find practical benchmark learning targets for inefficient municipal solid waste authorities (MSWAs). This study developed a recycling performance evaluation procedure by subgrouping MSWAs with prominent local demographic features, such as population density, ratio of senior citizens, tourism index etc. Principal recycling relevant factors for MSWAs in each group were then collected, and data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied for efficiency evaluation and benchmark learning targets. A case study of 181 MSWAs in Taiwan demonstrated the suitability of the proposed procedures. An assessment of the required efforts for efficiency improvements revealed that, in an unsegregated scenario, inefficient MSWAs representing a rural subgroup required maximum efforts to fulfill the efficiency targets, which was on average 61% higher than that determined in their respective subgroup. Furthermore, the unsegregated scenario revealed proximal efficiency results for the urban subgroup. The results indicated that consideration of local demographic features was essential for a fair assessment of recycling efficiency. Additionally, evaluating MSWAs with similar local demographic features was superior in obtaining appropriate benchmark learning targets for the inefficient MSWAs and, consequently, exhibited practicality for improving walkthroughs to achieve the efficiency goal.

Correction to: A simplified normalized multi-mode nonlinear static procedure (NMP) for seismic performance evaluation of building structures

Correction to: A simplified normalized multi-mode nonlinear static procedure (NMP) for seismic performance evaluation of building structures

Resilience-Based seismic design of buildings through multiobjective optimization

The growing concern for resilience among engineers and other stakeholders is rapidly expanding the range of performance objectives imposed on buildings subjected to seismic ground motion, underscoring the need for multi-objective optimization in design. Genetic algorithms have received widespread attention in the literature as a powerful tool for multi-objective optimization of complex engineering systems, making them a prime candidate for this application. Using models of 4, 7, 10, and 15-story reinforced concrete moment frame office buildings (i.e. Risk Category II), this paper applies a resilience-based performance evaluation procedure using a genetic algorithm in order to take advantage of the potential of multi-objective optimization in designing buildings for resilience. Building models are parameterized by design variables of stiffness, strength, and deformation capacity, which are altered during optimization to enhance building performance in terms of resilience. Moreover, optimization is performed in terms of both life span performance and conditional performance at 2% and 50% probability of exceedance in 50 years and the design hazard level. In order to facilitate translation of multi-objective optimization outcomes to a final, manageable set of design alternatives to be considered by stakeholders, a pruning approach is proposed based on the existing literature and combined with the chosen genetic algorithm. Additionally, comparison of optimized Risk Category II designs with code-based Risk Category IV designs (i.e. essential facilities) facilitates assessment of the effectiveness of the more stringent stiffness and strength criteria required by building codes of essential facilities. The proposed methodology is found to be effective at identifying optimal designs given a set of constraints. The Risk Category IV criteria are generally found to be effective in terms of optimizing both loss of function and total cost.

A simplified normalized multi-mode nonlinear static procedure (NMP) for seismic performance evaluation of building structures

A simplified normalized multi-mode nonlinear static procedure (NMP) for seismic performance evaluation of building structures

On the accuracy of enhanced pushover procedures for seismic performance evaluation of code-conforming RC moment-resisting frame buildings subjected to pulse-like and non-pulse-like excitations

In this paper, the applicability and validity of enhanced pushover procedures in estimating the seismic demands of mid- and high-rise reinforced concrete (RC) building frames under pulse-like near-fault ground motions having forward-directivity and fling-step effects as well as non-pulse-like near-fault and far-fault ground motions are assessed through the comparison with the nonlinear response history analysis (NL-RHA). The enhanced pushover procedures including the modal pushover analysis (MPA), force-based adaptive pushover (FAP), displacement-based adaptive pushover (DAP), extended N2 method (EN2), single-run multi-mode pushover (SMP), and non-adaptive displacement-based pushover (NADP) procedures, as well as a conventional pushover method based on the first mode of the structure, are performed. To this end, three plan-symmetric buildings including the 9-, 12-, and 18-story RC frames designed in accordance with the provisions of ASCE 710 and ACI 318-14 are examined. The engineering demand parameters considered are the interstory drift ratios and story shears, which are representatives of the deformation and force demands, respectively. Additionally, the seismic performance of the RC buildings is assessed using the conventional and the enhanced multi-modal pushover procedures in accordance with the systematic evaluation scheme of the ASCE 41-17 standard. The comparative evaluation demonstrates that the accuracy of the NSPs varies with the type of the ground motions. Some methods result in satisfactory performance for pulse-like ground motions, some for non-pulse-like ones, and some for both of them. All in all, the MPA, EN2, and SMP procedures provide a relatively better prediction of the seismic demands of RC building frames.

Steady-State Analysis Based on Space Vector Model of Self-Excited Induction Generators

In order to attain more optimization for the procedure of transient and steady-state operation performance analysis and evaluation of self-excited induction generators (SEIGs), the paper converts the state-space transient mathematic model with real domain into the space vector transient model with complex domain based on the same two-phase stationary reference frame, described by which the physical systems can apply extendedly the holistic analysis approach based on Lyapunov stability theory proposed in real domain. Through equivalent analysis, the extended form of the steady-state conditions and its mathematic description into the complex domain is obtained, that is, the extended quasi limit cycle and the steady-state operating points. The analytic calculation for the extended steady-state condition provides successively the analytic solutions of exciting capacitance, stator frequency, as well as the extended steady state conditions under given rotor speed and magnetizing inductance. The practical calculation example verifies correctness and effectiveness of the approach and the analytic solution of the extended steady-state condition, with engineering reference values.

IEEE 802.15.6 CSMA/CA access method for WBANs: Performance evaluation and new backoff counter selection procedure

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) are supposed to be an effective proposition to revolutionize the present and the future of health care services. They provide a proactive diagnosis for many deadly diseases, as well as remote and real-time monitoring. On the other hand, they impose several challenges to the medium access control (MAC) protocols design, regarding the energy-efficiency, quality-of-service, priority, scalability, reliability, and security. The standardization of the IEEE 802.15.6 provides new MAC specifications for WBANs, that take these issues into account. In the case of the narrowband frequency (402 to 405 MHz) dedicated to medical applications, the WBAN employs the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) access method: the main contention-based access method of the IEEE 802.15.6 MAC protocol that supports the unpredictable data traffic. This access method suffers from the loss of its performance with the increase of the network density. Consequently, evaluating and improving it is important, especially with the sensitivity of the medical data it deals with. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the IEEE 802.15.6 CSMA/CA access method, through an illustrative case-study, using the statistical model-checking (SMC) toolset UPPAAL-SMC. Then, based on the results of this evaluation regarding the negative impact of the converged contention window (CW) intervals, we propose new ones and a new backoff counter (BC) selection procedure. Relevant metrics we use are energy-efficiency, throughput, and delay. Finally, we validate the performance of our proposition, in comparison to the old one, on the same case-study and toolset. Our access method manages to decrease the number of collisions and to increase the number of packets successfully transmitted.

Factors Affecting 5G Network Architecture with Integration of Higher-Level Protocol Using Radio Access Technology

In this study, we suggest a revolutionary network architectural design strategy for future 5G mobile networks, which we believe would be beneficial. The proposed design is based on a mobile environment that is centered on the user and incorporates a range of wireless and mobile technologies to achieve this. Because it is impossible to make changes to any wireless technology, new or old, in a heterogeneous wireless environment, each solution for next-generation mobile and wireless networks should be implemented in the service stratum, whereas radio access technologies should be implemented in the transport stratum in the Next-Generation Networks approach. The user terminal in the proposed design has the option of altering the Radio Access Technology - RAT based on the parameters that have been supplied. This paper introduces the Policy-Router, which is a node in the core network that constructs IP tunnels to the mobile terminal across many available RATs to the terminal, while enabling the mobile terminal to change RATs in an unobtrusive manner. After learning about the RAT via the mobile terminal's performance measurements, the mobile terminal selects the RAT by executing a multi-criteria decision-making process using the specified user agent. In this paper, we describe the QoSPRO methodology, which allows control information to be shared between the mobile terminal and the Policy Router throughout the performance evaluation procedure.

Examination of the Quality Control Items for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis System in Japan

Mammography equipment attached to the digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) system is widespread in Japan. However, there are no guidelines for quality control methods for DBT in Japan. Therefore, it is necessary to rapidly establish a performance evaluation procedure and a quality control procedure for DBT. In this study, we conducted basic experiments using DBTs of five companies (Canon Medical, Fujifilm Medical, GE Healthcare, Hologic, Siemens) already sold in Japan and examined feasible common items. We aimed to establish a quality control method for DBT in Japan. The measurement was performed based on the European Reference Organisation for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services (EUREF) breast tomosynthesis quality control protocol, version 1.03. In this study, we tried to measure 18 items in DBT. We examined whether the 18 items could be measured using each device; it is not an evaluation of device performance based on the measured values. There were some management items that were difficult to implement due to the specifications of DBT, such as devices that required pressure on DBT operation, problems due to the shape of bucky, and devices that did not have stationary mode. There were also problems with measurement data; for example, devices could not retrieve projection data and reconstruction data. This study clarified points to be considered for establishing common quality control items. In the future, we will carefully refer to the recently published IEC 61223-3-6, consider international harmonization, and establish DBT guidelines customized for the Japanese market.

A multi-mode N2 (MN2) pushover procedure for ductility level seismic performance evaluation of jacket type offshore platforms

The static pushover analysis can be employed to check the adequate ductility of jacket type offshore platforms (JTOPs) under the abnormal level earthquake (ALE) in the design phase. The conventional pushover analysis suffers from different inherent limitations such as disregarding the higher mode effects. In this paper, it is intended to develop an advanced pushover procedure for the seismic design of JTOPs. To this end, a multi-mode N2 (MN2) pushover procedure is proposed that modifies the SRSS modal combination rule in the extended N2 procedure. The proposed procedure utilizes several modes of vibration to increase the accuracy of the method. The presented procedure is applied to two case study JTOP structures for the ductility level seismic performance evaluation. The seismic demands obtained by the MN2 procedure is compared with the average results of the benchmark nonlinear response history (NRH) analyses conducted using a suite of far-field ground motion records scaled to the ALE design response spectrum. The results of a statistical study show that there is a strong correlation between the spectral values of the records at the shorter periods of JTOPs and the responses of the foundation and the lower braced story levels of the jacket, which emphasize the important effects of the higher modes on the seismic demands of JTOPs if considering soil-pile-structure interaction. The utilized formulation for the modal combination is shown to improve the accuracy of the MN2 method at the pile foundation and at the lower braced story levels of the jacket. Moreover, the seismic drift demands predicted by the proposed MN2 method are in excellent agreement with the benchmark NRH results along the height of the platforms. Considering the simplicity and ease of application, this method can be utilized as a useful tool for checking the design ductility level earthquake.

Seismic Design and Performance Evaluation of Fusion-Type Polyethylene Pipeline

It is known that buried polyethylene (PE) pipes exhibit good seismic performance owing to their flexibility and ductility. The use of PE pipes as buried pipelines is gradually increasing, but currently, there are no seismic design or seismic performance evaluation procedures for domestic PE pipes in Korea. In this study, a seismic design and performance evaluation procedure for a domestic fusion-type PE pipe was developed based on the response displacement method, which is relatively easy to apply. The procedure was based on a method of examining whether the sum of the axial strain induced by both normal and seismic loading was within the allowable strain of the PE pipe. While calculating the axial strain of the ground, a coefficient was introduced to account for the heterogeneity of the ground. A seismic review method for ground deformation, i.e., ground liquefaction, was also introduced. The proposed procedure will provide a useful technical basis for evaluating the seismic design and performance of buried PE pipes in future studies.

HDR and WCG Image Quality Assessment Using Color Difference Metrics

High dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut (WCG) imagery is now mainstream across content creation. Thus, having a reliable way of evaluating HDR systems is essential. One common way of measuring the quality of an HDR system is measuring the color errors introduced along the imaging pipeline. Unfortunately, development of color difference metrics has been based on test patches, as opposed to natural imagery, with evaluation mostly limited to standard dynamic range (SDR) databases. In this paper, we evaluate several color difference metrics on five publicly available HDR distortion databases consisting of natural images and subjective scores. Distortion types include lower frequency distortions such as those from tone mapping as well as higher-frequency distortions resulting from compression artifacts by the various compression schemes such as Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG). We analyze these databases with the well-established CIE <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{L}^\star \text{a}^\star \text{b}^\star $ </tex-math></inline-formula> metrics ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta E_{00}, \Delta E_{94}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) as well as two HDR-specific metrics: <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta E_{z} (j_{z}a_{z}b_{z})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta E_{ITP} (IC_{T}C_{P})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . To quantify the performance, we use four standard performance evaluation procedures. We observe that <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta E_{ITP}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> outperforms the other color difference metrics on four out of five databases. We also perform statistical analysis, which demonstrates the effectiveness of using <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta E_{ITP}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to assess the overall image quality of HDR/WCG content. Weaknesses of all metrics for one database suggest that more advanced spatio-chromatic visual models are worth pursuing.

ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF HOMOGENEITY OF PET FOOD USING FERROMAGNETIC MICROTRACERS

Obtaining highly homogeneous mixtures is an urgent task in many areas of feed production, as it is associated with the need for even distribution of particularly important and valuable components. Manufacturers of animal feed are using several different methods for performing homogeneity studies to check their mixer performance. This paper is devoted to the use of nontraditional markers such as ferromagnetic Microtracers to evaluate the homogeneity of the final feed. Microtracers have successfully been used in a mixer testing program in the USA since 1985 and in Europe since 2006. They represent a major improvement over traditional analytical procedures for evaluation of mixer performance involving the use of cobalt or manganese salts. The authors described the quantitative results of determination and identification of Microtracers in two sets of 20 samples of pet food manufactured by Kormotech LLC with using a proprietary Rotary Detector procedure developed by Micro-Tracers Inc (San Francisco, California). It was shown that analysis of 150 g samples at level of Microtracer addition of 20 g per metric ton of pet food allowed a magnetic retrieval of the number of ferromagnetic particles from 61 to 101 which was sufficient for application of Poisson and Chi-squared statistics. The obtained results from two tests performed with different time of mixing were interpreted in accordance with the requirements of the GMP + BA2 standard. It was determined that mixing within 3 min leads to the marginal mixing with the calculated probability value of 1.12%. The prolonged mixing within 4 min leads to complete mixing with the calculated probability value of 5.93%. The use of ferromagnetic Microtracers in a mixer testing program is justified for such tasks as comparison of mixers with each other, as well as identifying the changes in the technical characteristics of the mixers and their performance occurring during their exploitation. In addition, using microtracers can quickly determine the quality of the mixing equipment when it is purchased.

A structured approach to the evaluation of indoor environments’ecological valency

Buildings typically are expected to provide their inhabitants with the opportunity to influence the indoor environment using various control devices. These include, for example, windows, luminaires, radiators, and shading elements. The quality and adequacy of the indoor environment is thus dependent on the availability and effectiveness of such devices. There is arguably a lack of generally agreed-upon evaluation procedures for this aspect of buildings’ indoor environment, namely its controllability by building users, or – in the terminology of Human Ecology – its “ecological valency”. In this context, the present contribution explores the possibility to specify buildings’ ecological valency in a systematic and reproducible manner. Toward this end, first appropriate theoretical foundations for this purpose are explored and previous related efforts are briefly reviewed. Subsequently, a specific approach toward an ecological valency evaluation method is presented. As part of this approach, five main categories of control devices are documented in various rooms of a building, including windows, shading, lights, heating and cooling systems. Whereas, the first part of this method deals with the basic availability of these control devices and elements, the second part looks at their spatial distribution, effectiveness (both objective and subjective), interface quality (to support user interaction), and ecological quality. The presented evaluation method is tested for six different rooms of an office area in an educational building in Vienna, Austria. Thirty participants independently evaluated this area based on the proposed method and associated protocol. The results point to high degree of congruence between the evaluation results of different participants while judging the principle availability and typology of the control devices. Higher variation was observed in the evaluation of the quality of devices and their interfaces. As a whole, the results suggest that methods similar to the one presented in this contribution may indeed provide an opportunity to extend building performance evaluation procedures beyond energy and cost criteria so as to cover aspects pertaining to user control and satisfaction.