E-Class may be installed in a variety of operational settings, but is primarily designed for use in a university classroom environment. It is also suited for use in similar educational settings, such as student study groups or secondary-school classrooms, where users present organized knowledge and participate in detailed discussion.

As noted in the preceding section on system personnel, there is a single primary customer for E-Class, who represents a particular university department. As such, the tool's requirements reflect the point of view of the customer base, including their work setting. The specific needs of the customer are of principal importance, and development of a general-purpose tool is only a secondary aim.

Prior to installation of E-Class, most classrooms are equipped with a projector to which an instructor's laptop can be connected for presentations using various software. Some online conferencing tools are in use for meetings and office hours. The university also maintains software systems to manage student enrollment in classes.

E-Class replaces other presentation software in the cases that individual instructors choose to use it for a particular purpose. However, it offers a relatively simple substitution, by offering the ability to convert or adapt existing presentation content. It may be used in place of other conferencing tools, but such are not heavily used among the end users. The tool interfaces with university databases of student enrollment, via a separately-developed grading tool that offers easier integration as well as instructor flexibility.