by Robert Schumacher, Ph.D.
Presentation given on 21 May to the GCC HIMSS group in Chicago with ~50 people present.
www.usercentric.com
The point was to provide some background on usability (a gentle introduction to some of the science), some case studies, and introduce the measurement AND design components of user centered design.
Note because of all the animations, some pages do not view properly. Please contact me if you would like more information:
bob at usercentric.com
Enhancing Worker Digital Experience: A Hands-on Workshop for Partners
Usability and Health IT
1. Usability: Introduction and Application to HIT
GCC HIMSS Meeting
Robert M. Schumacher, Ph.D.
Managing Director
User Centric, Inc.
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
rschumacher@usercentric.com
May 21, 2009
2. Who has the highest risk of accident?
(1) Conversing while (2) Conversing with hands
holding a phone free phone
(3) Conversing with (4) Drunk
person in car
3. Cognitive Impairment While Driving with Cell Phone
Meta-analysis by Horrey & Wickens (2006) found:
- There are significant costs to driver reactions to external hazards
or events associated with cell phone use, and
- Hands-free cell phones do not eliminate or substantially reduce
these costs
- Talking on cell phone when driving (hands-free or handed)
shows performance similar to driving drunk (Strayer and
colleagues)
Using a cell phone impairs a driver’s cognitive function
Drews, F. A., Pasupathi, M. & Strayer, D.L. (2008). Passenger and Cell Phone Conversations in Simulated Driving. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Applied. 14 (4), 392–400
Horrey, W., & Wickens, C. (Spring 2006). Examining the Impact of Cell Phone Conversations on Driving Using Meta-Analytic
Techniques, Human Factors, 38 (1): 196–205.
Strayer D. L. & William J. A. (2001). Driven to distraction: Dual-Task Studies of Simulated Driving and Conversing on a Cellular
Telephone.quot;. Psychological Science, 6 (12): 462–466.
3
4. Which Phone Is Best for Text Entry?
Speed
Speed
Accuracy
Accuracy
(1) iPhone (3) Blackberry
Full QWERTY QWERTY
(Touchscreen) (Hard Key)
(2) Razr
Numeric
(Hard Key)
5. Motor Differences When Typing on Cell Phones
Average Time to Enter Messages Average Number of Errors
QWERTY fast and accurate
iPhone fast but inaccurate
Numeric slow but accurate
Much of performance can be
characterized by the Speed
Accuracy Tradeoff Lew, G. et al. (2007). User performance with iPhone. Unpublished
research.
6. Intended Keypresses vs. Actual Keypresses
Presented Letter (Intended Key Press)
Actual Key Pressed
Correct key presses > 10 incorrect > 20 incorrect > 40 incorrect
6
10. Eye tracking Reveals Perceptual Processing
Quantitative Measures Meaning
Informativeness of an area / user
# fixations on an area
interest in the area
Info clarity / info density / info
Fixation length
processing demands
# fixations before target
Layout effectiveness / search
Time to 1st target fixation
demands
Scanpath complexity
% users fixating on an area
Prominence / perceived importance
Order of 1st fixation
of an area
# visits to area
Cognitive processing demands /
Pupil diameter
user mental workload
e.g., Bojko, A. (2009). Informative or misleading? Heatmaps deconstructed. Proceedings of the 13th International
Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII). San Diego, CA.
10
19. A Few that Embrace Usability and User Research
Each of these organizations
has more than 100
usability staff members
19
20. A Few Ways to Measure User Performance
Reaction times Error
– Stimulus onset to response – Number / type / severity
Task Completion Times Efficiency
– Complex sequence of actions – Ratio of Actual behavior to
Optimal behavior
– E.g., Steps, keystrokes, clicks
Attention
– Eye tracking
Subjective Measures
– Ratings of Satisfaction / Usability /
Subjective time on task duration
Usefulness
– Difficult tasks overestimate time
Learnability
– Measure trials to criterion
20
21. Usability as a Process
Existing Context Mental Iterative Validation
interface for use model design & testing
Diagnose Explore Identify key user Design, review, validate design, repeat
context for use goals and approach
• Navigation and
• User • Goals
screen flow
• Evidence- research analysis
based interviews • Interaction
evaluation/ • Task storyboards
Cognitive • Design
• Field analysis
reviews
walkthrough observations
• Interaction • Low-fidelity
• User surveys • Site visits models wireframing
• Validation
interviews, lo
• Content/ • Card sorting w-fidelity UT
feature • High-fidelity
mapping • Site prototyping, inc
Mapping luding • Usability
• Eye tracking iconography testing
and visual
aesthetics • A/B testing
22. User Research (Measure & Design)
Observe users in their “native” Pharmacy Visit
environment
Identify features most needed and
relevant to users
Identify user interface and
functional areas that users see as
most lacking
Determine metrics that can be
used to measure return on
investment
Hospital Visit
On-site in an airplane simulator
22
23. Lab-Based Usability Testing (Measure & Design)
Representative users perform
representative tasks in a controlled
setting
Collect performance and feedback
data
Usability Testing
Outcome:
Diagnose
problems,
discover
remedies for
repair and /or
collect base-
line performance metrics for future
comparisons
Observation Using One-way Mirrors and Video
23
24. Eye Tracking (Measure)
Captures the location of the eyes while
looking at a stimulus
Offers insight into the perceptual and
cognitive processes involved in user
interaction
Can be used with computer
interfaces, physical products, and Eye tracking study for a financial Web site
printed material
Eye tracking quot;heat mapquot; report
24
25. Evidence-Based Evaluation & Cognitive Walkthrough
(Diagnose)
A detailed assessment of the artifact:
– Grounded in applied research
– Tempered by experience
– Guided by best practice and Evaluating a mobile application
population stereotypes
– Scenario-based simulation of
common and
critical tasks
based on
user
personas
Actionable Recommendations in a Report
25
26. Information Architecture & Interaction Design (Design)
Information architecture (IA) is the Interaction design defines the user
blueprint for a website or interface. interactions with the interface.
Structure
Organization
Navigation
Labeling
Good interaction design makes the user’s
interactions as simple and efficient as
possible.
26
31. Typography for Labels – Which is best?
Baseline ALL CAPS Underline Bold Highlighted
Arial 12 Arial 12 Arial 12 Arial 9 Arial 14 Times 12 Arial 12 Arial 12
Common COMMON Common Common Common Common Common
Common
Department DEPARTMENT Department Department Department Department Department
Department
Meds MEDS Meds Meds Meds Meds Meds
Meds
OrderSets ORDERSETS OrderSets OrderSets OrderSets OrderSets OrderSets
OrderSets
Fluids FLUIDS Fluids Fluids Fluids Fluids Fluids
Fluids
Drips DRIPS Drips Drips Drips Drips Drips
Drips
Insulin INSULIN Insulin Insulin Insulin Insulin Insulin
Insulin
TPN TPN TPN TPN TPN TPN TPN
TPN
Unsent UNSENT Unsent Unsent Unsent Unsent Unsent
Unsent
Existing EXISTING Existing Existing Existing Existing Existing
Existing
32. Line Length & Case
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the
age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the
season of Light
Line lengths of 4 (+/- 1.2) inches
are easiest to read. Lines greater
It was the best of times, it was the worst than 5 inches strain the eye as it back
of times, it was the age of wisdom, it scans, making it easier to jump to the
was the age of foolishness, it was the
wrong next line. Lines less than 2.5
epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light
inches slow reading due to the large
number of eye movements
IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS ALL CAPS can reduce reading
THE WORST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE speeds by as much as 20%
AGE OF WISDOM, IT WAS THE AGE
OF FOOLISHNESS, IT WAS THE
EPOCH OF BELIEF, IT WAS THE
EPOCH OF INCREDULITY, IT WAS
THE SEASON OF LIGHT
32
33. What Do We know?
Reading speed:12% slower on screen than paper
Typographic characteristics also negatively affect reading speed:
ALL CAPS,Bold, underline, font type and fon t s ze
i
Reading comprehension: Often worse on screen than paper
Reading speed and comprehension all affected by:
Font color, background color, contrast, alignment, and line length
Implications? So What?
Reading charts on line is slower with lower comprehension than
paper
With fatigue, typography has cumulative effects
Use visual design to improve (and even beat) status quo
34. So What Should You Do? Typography Recommendations
Stay within one font family (usually sans serif online)
Keep text sizes readable (12 pt optimal, >9 pt, < 14 pt)
Use high contrast ratios darker letters on a lighter background
Use mixed case
Avoid use of italics and underlining as emphasis tools
Use left aligned and ragged right text (Not centered or right aligned)
Use only a few unique margins on page (Use indentations sparingly)
Use “Title Casequot; or bold when emphasis is needed
Avoid color coding text
34
36. Language Affects Speed And Comprehension
False
True statement,
statement, Negat
Affirmative (Yes)
ive (No)
Response
Response
The circle isis above the star
The circle not above the star
Yes or No?
36
37. Findings
Statement Statement is Response is
(1) The circle is above the star. True Affirmative
(2) The star is above the circle. False Affirmative
(3) The star is not above the circle. True Negative
(4) The circle is not above the star. False Negative
True statements evoked faster responses than false statements
Positive (affirmative) responses much faster than negative (~ 500 msec)
Carpenter, P. A., and Just, M. A. (1975). Sentence comprehension: A
Clark, H. H., & Chase, W. G. (1972). On the process of comparing psycholinguistic processing model of verification. Psychological Review,
sentences against pictures. Cognitive Psychology, 3, 472-517. 82 (1), 45-73.
37
38. So What? Think About Dialog Boxes in CPOE…
Affirmative Negative
Non Destructive
What just
Happened?
Different phrasings are used when you want different responses
Statement Type Use When
True Affirmative Fast, easy, low-cost-to-user outcome, confirmation only
False Affirmative Need user to think about the response, high cost to user
True Negative Should almost never use
False Negative Never use, unless trying to deceive user
e.g., Opt out response [ ] Do not send me the newsletter
38
40. Visual Design and Signal Detection
Users have goals, e.g.,
– Review lab reports for abnormalities
– Ensure no allergies to certain medications
We use perceptual and cognitive processes to
review screens
– Goal is “target” or “signal”
– All else is “noise”
Good design has high signal:noise ratios
– Anticipates important signals
– Enables location of signals
• Proximity
• Coding
• Redundant queing
To illustrate this point…we need a little help
40
44. End of a Long Frustrating Day…
How did the patient’s
white cell count change?
45. Improper
Incorrect
Alignment
use of
Of fields
color
Incorrect
use of Poor use
Incorrect
color of coding
use of
data
color
46. What Should You Look for in Evaluations & Walkthroughs?
Use the published research, knowledge of best practices, population stereotypes, and
expert opinion to analyze the user interface. For example we would go deep into the
following areas:
• Page Layout • Screen-Based Controls
• Navigation • User experience (e.g., response
• Scrolling & Paging times)
• Headings, Titles & Labels • Graphics, Images and Multimedia
• Links • Content Organization & Style
• Text Appearance • Search
• Lists • Accessibility
Additionally, we simulate common and critical use cases and scenarios based on
personas
46
48. User Research: Defining Process Flows
Stocking Errors: Drug is placed where it is not supposed to be
Selection Errors: Wrong drug is selected from among other drugs
Verification Errors: Incorrectly selected drug is confirmed as correct.
Data entry Errors: Drug administering device is incorrectly programmed.
48
50. What Do We Know (or Think We Know) About Form Layout?
Ficticious Patient
50
51. “Left” Layout
Advantages
– Because eyes are naturally drawn to
the hard edge on the left:
• It is easy to find the beginning of
the next label.
• Labels are easy to scan (in
previewing an unfamiliar form or
finding required fields).
Disadvantages
– Large distances between labels and
fields can make the label-field
association difficult.
– Cannot easily accommodate labels of
very different lengths.
51
52. “Right” Layout
Advantage
– Labels and fields are easy to associate
because of their proximity.
Disadvantages
– Ragged left edge makes it more
difficult to:
• Scan of all labels quickly in order
to preview the form.
• Find the beginning of the next
label when completing the form.
52
53. “Top” Layout
Advantages
– Can accommodate long labels
and fields.
– Provides more flexibility for
localization.
Disadvantages
– Page length increases and the
form may require scrolling.
– Labels may “get lost” between
the fields.
53
54. “In-Field” Layout
Advantages
– Requires the least amount of space.
– Does not interfere with other elements
on the page as much as the other
layouts do.
Disadvantages
– Sometimes it is not obvious that the
fields are editable.
– Fields must be at least as long as their
labels, which can lead to unnecessarily
long fields.
– Interaction can be unclear, frustrating,
and cumbersome:
• If the label disappears on focus,
users might miss it.
• If the label does not disappear on
focus, users have to delete it.
54
55. “Flow” Layout
Advantages
– Labels and fields are easy to associate
because of their proximity.
– Labels are easy to scan.
Disadvantages
– Form can appear cluttered and
unprofessional, which may decrease the
site’s credibility.
– Quick scan of user inputs is difficult due
to the lack of left alignment of the
fields.
55
56. The Five Layouts, Again
FORM 1 FORM 2 FORM 3 FORM 4 FORM 5
“left” layout “right” layout “top” layout “in-field” layout “flow” layout
We asked for familiar information that everyone should know:
– Name, address, phone number(s), email address(es), and date of birth
56
57. Lab Setup
Moderator’s station to view Face Tobii 1750 remote eye-tracking
eye gaze in real time and camera system integrated into a 17”
control eye tracking software monitor (set to 1024 x 768 px)
One-way
mirror
Moderator Participant
57
58. Participants and Procedure
33 adults
– 16 males and 17 females
– Ages 22 – 61 (M = 29)
– From the Chicago area
Individual, 10-minute long sessions
Within-subjects experimental design
– Every participant completed all five forms.
– Layouts were presented in a counterbalanced order.
At the end, participants viewed all 5 layouts and rated them in terms of:
– Ease of filling out
– Visual appeal
58
59. Findings Outline
Performance
– Form completion time
– Errors
• Corrected
• Uncorrected
Eye movements
– Number and distribution of fixations
– Average fixation duration
User satisfaction
– Ratings of ease of filling out
– Ratings of visual appeal
59
60. Form Completion Time
Time measured from the
form appearance on the
screen to its submission.
Form Completion Time (s)
80
60
Participants
Form 1 (left)
spent less than a
minute per form. Form 2 (right)
40 Form 3 (top)
Form 4 (in-field)
Form 5 (flow)
20
54.2 55.0 58.8 59.3 54.8
0
There were no differences
between the form layouts in
any of the error categories All layouts were
(p > .05). equally fast (p > .05)
60
61. Number and Distribution of Fixations
FORM 1 FORM 2 FORM 3 FORM 4 FORM 5
“left” layout “right” layout “top” layout “in-field” layout “flow” layout
61
62. Number and Distribution of Fixations
Indicates scanning
efficiency.
Number of Fixations
100
On
average, partici
pants made 77 80
– 94 fixations
(min 40 s) per Form 1 (left)
form. 60 Form 2 (right)
Form 3 (top)
40 Form 4 (in-field)
Form 5 (flow)
20
92 94 77 90 91
0
There were no
Form 3 had the least fixations of differences between
all forms (p < .05). Forms 1, 2, 4, and 5.
62
63. Number and Distribution of Fixations
To understand why Form 3 had fewer
fixations than the other forms, we
decided to focus on fixations on the
fields and labels as opposed to
fixations on the entire form.
63
64. Number and Distribution of Fixations
Form 3 had fewer fixations on white space
than the other four forms (p < .005).
Number of Fixations
100 Form 1 (left)
Form 2 (right)
Form 3 (top)
80
Form 4 (in-field)
Form 5 (flow)
60
40
20
92 94 77 90 91 48 52 51 51 50 42 41 25 36 38
0
Entire Form Only Labels & Fields White Space
64
65. Number and Distribution of Fixations
…can be explained by…
Number of Fixations
100 Form 1 (left)
Form 2 (right)
Form 3 (top)
80
Form 4 (in-field)
Form 5 (flow)
60
40
20
92 94 77 90 91 48 52 51 51 50 42 41 25 36 38
0
Entire Form Only Labels & Fields White Space
Form 3 had the least fixations because participants did not look at white space as much as they did
on the other forms.
65
66. Number and Distribution of Fixations
Form 3 had a focused top-down scan pattern, and in terms of
scannability, was the most efficient.
Fewer fixations were “wasted” on white space
66
67. Average Fixation Duration
Indicates difficulty in
extracting and processing
information (due to higher
information
Average Fixation Duration (ms) density, ambiguity, or
350
complexity).
Average fixation
duration was
~one quarter of 300
a second.
250 Form 1 (left)
Form 2 (right)
200
Form 3 (top)
150 Form 4 (in-field)
Form 5 (flow)
100
50
236 263 294 298 262
0
Forms 3 & 4 had longer fixations than
the other forms (p < .05).
67
68. User Ratings: Ease of Filling Out & Visual Appeal
Using a scale from 1 to 10, please rate each of the forms you filled out based on how
easy they were to fill out:
Using a scale from 1 to 10, please rate each of the forms you filled out based on how
nice they look / how visually pleasing they are:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Very Very
Difficult Easy
FORM 1 FORM 2 FORM 3 FORM 4 FORM 5
“left” layout “right” layout “top” layout “in-field” layout “flow” layout
68
69. User Ratings: Ease of Filling Out & Visual Appeal
User Ratings
10
The two scales have
a different loser.
7
Form 1 (left)
Form 2 (right)
Form 3 (top)
4 Form 4 (in-field)
Form 5 (flow)
8.5 8.9 7.4 4.9 6.4 8.3 8.6 6.1 5.1 4.2
1 Form 5 was considered the
least visually appealing
Ease of Filling Out Visual Appeal
(likely due to the lack of
field alignment).
Form 4 received the
lowest ratings for ease
of use (likely due to its
label impermanence).
69
70. Summary of Findings
PERFORMANCE: All EYE MOVEMENTS: Form EYE MOVEMENTS:
forms were completed 3 had fewer fixations than Forms 3 & 4 had the
in the same amount of the other layouts because longest fixations due to
time and with similar fewer fixations were higher information
accuracy. “wasted” on white space. density per fixated area.
FORM 1 FORM 2 FORM 3 FORM 4 FORM 5
“left” layout “right” layout “top” layout “in-field” layout “flow” layout
SATISFACTION: Forms 1 & 2 were SATISFACTION: SATISFACTION:
rated as the easiest to fill out and the Form 4 was rated as Form 5 was rated as
most visually pleasing. the most difficult. the least appealing.
70
72. Design Can Be Fraught With Usability Issues
Bad screen
Layout
Wrong
Mental Model
Poor use of
Language
Inefficient
Navigation
72
73. Usability in Healthcare Technology
Tangible Financial Benefits of Usability
User Centric repeatedly sees and
the data support
Reduced development costs
Increased user productivity
Decreased user errors
Increased market acceptance
Increased satisfaction
Decreased training costs
Decreased user support costs Roger Pressman, Software Engineering:
A Practitioner’s Approach, McGraw-Hill
Support calls reduced by one third for
canterburyofnz.com
73
75. What Can Usability Do For HIT?
Measure Design
– Where is current performance? – Design user interface architecture
• Baseline key activities – Develop UI workflows
• Understand errors
• Measure satisfaction
– Wire frame screens
– Where can automation improve on
current practices? Iteratively Test
– Test early with real users
– Test often
Define User Needs – Redesign
– Interview key users
– Translate those to user interface Commitment to Performance
requirements Objectives
75
78. What Would Make a Successful Project Team
Clinician-Centered Design Practice Involves:
Clinical Staff (Users)
– Representatives from all impacted groups
Information Technology Team
– Business analysts
– Programmers
Usability Team
– Researchers
– Designers
Visual designer
78
79. Improving Usability in Healthcare Technology
Understand the business objectives and constraints, content, and users.
Business/Context
Understand the business objectives
and constraints, technological
constraints, resources, culture and
politics
IT Professionals
Content
Understand the quantity and the
quality of the content
Users Healthcare Usability Experts
An effective information architecture Professionals
must reflect the way users think.
Expand the “sweet spot”
79
82. How does this happen? Content analysis of RFPs
Analyzed 47 RFPs and Selection Guidelines for
EHRs
32 out of 47 RFPs made no mention of usability
Of the 15, where usability is mentioned,
descriptions are often vague:
– “Ease of use” is mentioned in the selection
guideline
– “Demonstrations are evaluated on
intuitiveness and usability.”
– “Ease of Use (minimizes typing, is intuitive,
simple layout)” is given a suggested 8%
weight in the vendor selection criteria
– “General usability”
83
83. Evaluating the usability of EHRs during the procurement process
How to evaluate the usability of EHR systems:
1. Identify the key user groups
2. Identify critical and frequent tasks
3. Benchmark key task efficiency
4. Estimate usability
5. Measure usability
84
84. Key Process Element #1: Identify the key user groups
Users who will be doing the
critical tasks
– Physician
– Nurses
– Administrative staff
85
85. Measuring usability of EHR systems
User Groups: Physicians | Nurses | Administrative
Measuring Usability Relative to Goals
Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction
Unassisted task Maximum user time (not Post-task ratings on 5-
Task completion rate of: machine time) of: point usability scale:
Task A
Task B
Task C
86
86. Key Process Element #2: Identify critical and frequent tasks
Critical tasks and frequent
tasks will help prioritize
EHR features.
ROI is maximized by:
– Task efficiency
– Effective training
87
87. Measuring usability of EHR systems
User Groups: Physicians | Nurses | Administrative
Measuring Usability Relative to Goals
Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction
Task Unassisted task Maximum user time (not Post-task ratings on 5-
Create an appointment
for a new patient
Check patient eligibility
for Medicare
Enter patient vitals
88
88. Key Process Element #3: Benchmark current task efficiency
Benchmark current critical and
frequent tasks in order to:
– Show that the EHR system
produces better task efficiency than
paper methods
– Show improved efficiency over an
existing electronic system
– Project ROI for a given period
Benchmark by:
– Directly measurement
– Expert estimation
89
89. Measuring usability of EHR systems
User Groups: Physicians | Nurses | Administrative
Measuring Usability Relative to Goals
Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction
Task Unassisted task Maximum user time (not Post-task ratings on 5-
Goal: 100% Goal: 2 mins Goal: 4.00
Create an appointment
for a new patient
Goal: 100% Goal: 1 min Goal: 4.00
Check patient eligibility
for Medicare
Goal: 100% Goal: 30 secs Goal: 4.00
Enter patient vitals
90
90. Key Process Element #4: Do First Pass Assessment
Estimating usability, as a first
pass, helps to narrow the field of
available EHR systems.
Estimation can be obtained via:
– Cognitive walkthrough
– Expert testing
– User Performance Modeling
GOMS
91
91. Measuring usability of EHR systems
User Groups: Physicians | Nurses | Administrative
Measuring Usability Relative to Goals
Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction
Task Unassisted task Maximum user time (not Post-task ratings on 5-
Goal: 100% Goal: 2 mins Goal: 4.00
Estimated Estimated Estimated
Create an appointment EHR A: 90% EHR A: 4 mins EHR A: 3.00
for a new patient EHR B: 100% EHR B: 1.5 mins EHR B: 4.50
Goal: 100% Goal: 1 min Goal: 4.00
Estimated Estimated Estimated
Check patient eligibility EHR A: 95% EHR A: 2.5 mins EHR A: 4.00
for Medicare EHR B: 100% EHR B: 1 min EHR B: 5.00
Goal: 100% Goal: 30 secs Goal: 4.00
Estimated Estimated Estimated
EHR A: 90% EHR A: 45 secs EHR A: 3.25
Enter patient vitals
EHR B: 100% EHR B: 30 secs EHR B: 4.75
92
92. Key Process Element #5: Measure usability
Measure the usability of the
remaining EHR candidates.
Measuring usability can be
obtained via:
– Usability testing
– Log files
– Observation
– Questionnaires
Experts are required to measure
the usability of EHR systems.
93
93. Measuring usability of EHR systems
User Groups: Physicians | Nurses | Administrative
Measuring Usability Relative to Goals
Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction
Task Unassisted task Maximum user time (not Post-task ratings on 5-
Goal: 100% Goal: 2 mins Goal: 4.00
Estimated Estimated Estimated
Create an appointment EHR A: 90% EHR A: 4 mins EHR A: 3.00
for a new patient EHR B: 100% EHR B: 1.5 mins EHR B: 4.50
Actual Actual Actual
EHR B: 100% EHR B: 2 mins EHR B: 5.00
Goal: 100% Goal: 1 min Goal: 4.00
Estimated Estimated Estimated
Check patient eligibility EHR A: 95% EHR A: 2.5 mins EHR A: 4.00
for Medicare EHR B: 100% EHR B: 1 min EHR B: 5.00
Actual Actual Actual
EHR B: 100% EHR B: 45 secs EHR B: 5.00
Goal: 100% Goal: 30 secs Goal: 4.00
Estimated Estimated Estimated
EHR A: 90% EHR A: 45 secs EHR A: 3.25
Enter patient vitals
EHR B: 100% EHR B: 30 secs EHR B: 4.75
Actual Actual Actual
EHR B: 100% EHR B: 30 secs EHR B: 5.00
94
Thank you.NamePleasure to be here to speak to you.I am Managing Director of a user research firm HQ in OBT, with test studio @ 500N and in Beijing ChinaWant to start out with a few non-HIT examples to illustrate some points about usability- In fact these examples are set to illustrate – three areas of usability: cognition, motor performance, and attention.Some may seem a little strained, but we’ll weave them togetherIt’s my hope that you’ll walk out tonight with a greater appreciation for what Usability is, how it is used, and specifically how it can be applied in HIT
Cognitive
Driver performance when talking on a cellphone is roughly equivalent to being drunkDriver performance is no different when on handsfree and hand holding Epidemiological and forensic analysis support these lab findingsLive conversation is much less impaired than cell conversationReason: Cognitive demands of conversation impair ability to perform primary task track lanes and brakeTheory: Multiple resource theoryImplications: Accidents may not go down, and could possibly go upMeta-analysis by The Canadian Automobile Association[9] and The University of Illinois[10] found that response time while using both hands-free and hand-held phones was approximately 0.5 standard deviations higher than normal driving (i.e., an average driver, while talking on a cell phone, has response times of a driver in roughly the 40th percentile). Horrey, William; Christopher Wickens (Spring 2006). \"Examining the Impact of Cell Phone Conversations on Driving Using Meta-Analytic Techniques\" (PDF). Human Factors (Human Factors and Ergonomics Society) 38 (1): 196–205. Strayer D. L., Drews F. A. & Johnston W. A. (2003). \"Cell Phone-Induced Failures of Visual Attention During Simulated Driving.\". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied 1 (9): 23–32. doi:10.1037/1076-898X.9.1.23Strayer D. L. & William J. A. (2001). \"Driven to distraction: Dual-Task Studies of Simulated Driving and Conversing on a Cellular Telephone.\". Psychological Science 6 (12): 462–466. cell phone drivers exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers. POINT: Cognitive impairment\"Drivers need to keep not only their hands on the wheel; they also have to keep their brains on the road,\" passenger conversations differ from cell phoneconversations because the surrounding traffic not only becomes a topic of the conversation, helpingdriver and passenger to share situation awareness, but the driving condition also has a direct influenceon the complexity of the conversation, thereby mitigating the potential negative effects of a conversationon driving.cell phone and passengerconversation differ in their impact on a driver’s performanceand that these differences are apparent at the operational, tactical,and strategic levels of performance.
Motor
MOTOR Performance
A 26 x 26 matrix was constructed to further analyze the errors users made on the iPhone keyboard.The columns represent the intended key press or the targeted letter.The rows represent the actual key press made by the participant.
Not market research, focus groups, user acceptance testing, surveys, graphic designThere is a kernel of truth in all of these, they are worthy subjects and have their place, however these are not what we’ll be talking about here
Main Entry:us·ableVariant(s):also use·able \\ˈyü-zə-bəl\\Function: nounDate:14th century1 : capable of being used2 : convenient and practicable for use
Usability is a soft construct
Here are just a few examples of present and past work by human factors/ergonomics experts that has made a difference in our lives:What would driving today be like without the center high-mounted rear brake light in cars? Human factors/ergonomics professionals found that use of this safety feature helped to prevent rear-end collisions, saving millions of dollars each year. Numerous contributions by HF/E professionals have made air travel safer. These efforts focus on both cockpit safety and effectiveness as well as improved interaction between pilots and air traffic controllers.Those with diabetes are benefiting from usability studies performed on a range of blood glucose monitoring systems, which have resulted in improvements to these devices. HF/E professionals are helping to ensure that other medical devices for use in both health care institutions and the home are safer and easier to use.
Czerwinski, M., Horvitz, E., & Cutrell, E. (2001). Subjective Duration Assessment: An Implicit Probe for Software Usability. In Proceedings of IHM-HCI 2001 Conference, Volume 2, (September, 2001, Lille, France), p. 167–170
It is the foundation upon which interface design can be successfully implemented.
Evaluations and EHR
I tried to find some more information about what “harder to read” means statistically. I managed to find some numbers in Janice Redish’s book, Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works. (This is a great writing-for-the-web book, by the way!) ALL CAPS slow reading speed by about 15 percent. Given that website visitors tend to want to obtain and read information quickly on the web, making web content harder to read by using ALL CAPS should generally be avoided.
Clark, H. H., & Chase, W. G. (1972). On the process of comparing sentences against pictures. Cognitive Psychology, 3, 472-517.Just, M. A., & Carpenter, P. A. (1971). Comprehension of negation with quantification. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 10, 244-253.
All have same result if you press “return”
People have goals when they use systems. We are constantly looking over our visual field Looking for a passport
Evaluations and EHR
Guideline: Do not use two (or more) different ways to highlight the same information on one page.Comments: One study found that participants were able to complete tasks faster when the interface contained either color-coding or a form of ranking, but not both. The presence of both seemed to present too much information, and reduced the performance advantage by about half.Sources: Bandos and Resnick, 2004; Resnick and Fares, 2004. Bandos, J. & Resnick, M.L. (2004). The effects of semantic and syntactic instruction on users performance and satisfaction in search user interface design. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting.Resnick, M.L. & Fares, C. (2004). Visualizations to facilitate online tabular presentation of product data. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting.
Like any quality activity, benefits are hard to quantify for an individual project.There is ample research that supports incorporation of usability activities as a cost-reduction mechanism.Typical figures quoted are a benefit of between 10:1 and 100:1 (that is, a saving of between $10 and $100 for every dollar spent).Decreased user errorsOne project we did was with New Zealand Surf Lifesaving, where we helped simplify the web interface to their database. SLSNZ are actually surprisingly big on measuring statistics. The season that we did the work there were 1847 rescues performed by 4000 active lifeguards around New Zealand. They need these kind of statistics to justify their funding – they make a difference by saving lives. One of the biggest advantages of having a user centred focus was fewer errors in the database. Decreased training costsFurthermore, the new interface was much simpler and resulted in less training cost. Not having their trainer fly all over the country to visit 75 surf clubs from the far north to the deep south makes a big difference for a not-for-profit.Decreased user support costsWork with did with the official e-commerce site of the Canterbury clothing company resulted in far fewer enquiries about shipping information, and where stores are located, as a result of the changes we recommended.
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We’ve seen that specific techniques for measuring user performance exist…A lot of current problems are solved problemsApplying usability and human factors to healthcare systems would help organizations reach their patient-centered goals (STEEP) and practitioner-centered goals.This diagram is from a study showing the impact of interface design on technology-induced error in healthcare – by applying usability principles, errors decrease.
***Will adjust the diagram to better show this message:***There are often tradeoffs and many constraints in designing healthcare technology.Nobody starts out saying, “I’m going to make this really difficult to use.”HIT has come a long way, using healthcare domain expertise along with technology expertise,but to take it to the next level, usability is needed.
That is, [CLICK] from our analysis of 34 publicly available RFPs for EHRs, [CLICK] 26 out of 34 RFPs made no mention of usability. Seventy-five percent of the RFPs do not include usability as an important component to the proposal of developing and implementing EHRs. Of those RFPs that did make mention of usability, [CLICK] many RFPs used vague descriptions when discussing usability.From our content analysis, the importance attributed to usability is miniscule at best.