Applying usability heuristics to radiotherapy systems

Chan, Alvita J.; Islam, Mohammad K.; Rosewall, Tara; Jaffray, David A.; Easty, Anthony C.; Cafazzo, Joseph A

doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2011.05.077

Cited by 42 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The research findings concerning "Consistency and standards" and "Recognition rather than recall" heuristics are consistent with the results of Chan et al [22], Khajouei et al [23], Nabovati et al [20], and Edwards et al [24] which have been done in developing and non-developed countries. Examples for violations of the principle "Consistency and standards" are using unlabeled and poorly designed icons that do not conform to their functions (as illustrated in ▶ Figure 1).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…For example, the texts of some alerts were long and ambiguous. This result has little compatibility with the results of similar studies [10,18,21,22]. Improving clarity of system messages by minor textual revisions helps users understand the problems and recover from their errors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…In the study of Khajouei et al [21] the violations of eight out of nine examined principles were catastrophe. In the study of Chan et al [22] twenty five percent of detected problems received high priority and in the study of Choi et al [10] the average severity was between 0.5 and 2, rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)). In addition, in the study of Joshi et al [18] the mean severity of identified problems was 3 (range 0 -4) indicating major problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 2 more Smart Citations

User Interface Problems of a Nationwide Inpatient Information System: A Heuristic Evaluation

Atashi¹,

Khajouei²,

Azizi³

et al. 2016

Appl Clin Inform

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SummaryIntroduction: While studies have shown that usability evaluation could uncover many design problems of health information systems, the usability of health information systems in developing countries using their native language is poorly studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usability of a nationwide inpatient information system used in many academic hospitals in Iran. Material and Methods: Three trained usability evaluators independently evaluated the system using Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. The evaluators combined identified problems in a single list and independently rated the severity of the problems. We statistically compared the number and severity of problems identified by HIS experienced and non-experienced evaluators. Results: A total of 158 usability problems were identified. After removing duplications 99 unique problems were left. The highest mismatch with usability principles was related to "Consistency and standards" heuristic (25%) and the lowest related to "Flexibility and efficiency of use" (4%). The average severity of problems ranged from 2.4 (Major problem) to 3.3 (Catastrophe problem). The experienced evaluator with HIS identified significantly more problems and gave higher severities to problems (p<0.02). Discussion: Heuristic Evaluation identified a high number of usability problems in a widely used inpatient information system in many academic hospitals. These problems, if remain unsolved, may waste users' and patients' time, increase errors and finally threaten patient's safety. Many of them can be fixed with simple redesign solutions such as using clear labels and better layouts. This study suggests conducting further studies to confirm the findings concerning effect of evaluator experience on the results of Heuristic Evaluation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 1 more Smart Citation

User Interface Problems of a Nationwide Inpatient Information System: A Heuristic Evaluation

Atashi¹,

Khajouei²,

Azizi³

et al. 2016

Appl Clin Inform

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“…In the first example, HFE methods were used in the design of a radiotherapy treatment delivery system 47 48…”

Section: Hfe-based Interventions For Patient Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Human factors and ergonomics as a patient safety practice

2013

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BackgroundHuman factors and ergonomics (HFE) approaches to patient safety have addressed five different domains: usability of technology; human error and its role in patient safety; the role of healthcare worker performance in patient safety; system resilience; and HFE systems approaches to patient safety.MethodsA review of various HFE approaches to patient safety and studies on HFE interventions was conducted.ResultsThis paper describes specific examples of HFE-based interventions for patient safety. Studies show that HFE can be used in a variety of domains.ConclusionsHFE is a core element of patient safety improvement. Therefore, every effort should be made to support HFE applications in patient safety.

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“…From a human cognition point of view, the current interfaces cannot support such high level knowledge-based reasoning, and thus, do not adequately guide users during active problem solving. Moreover, Chan et al conducted a heuristic evaluation of the current radiotherapy user interfaces and found 75 usability issues including inconsistency in the design of visual elements and inadequate visibility of information (Chan et al, 2012). Such usability issues aggravate the problem of poor understanding of the system state by making it more likely for important signals to be misinterpreted or overlooked.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work Domain Analysis for Designing a Radiotherapy System Control Interface

Wu¹,

Jeon²,

Cafazzo³

et al. 2012

Proceedings of the 2012 Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care

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With rapid advancements in radiotherapy technology, the complexity of the radiotherapy treatment has multiplied over the past few decades. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for radiotherapists to have a clear and logical overview of the system state during treatment delivery. Any consequent mishaps may result in serious harm to the patient. To address this concern, a novel radiotherapy control and monitoring interface which visualizes complex relationships and constraints within the treatment system may help radiotherapists understand and address any issues that may arise during radiotherapy delivery. As such, Ecological Interface Design (EID) was applied to redesign the user interface used during radiotherapy delivery. A literature review, ethnographic observations, and domain expert feedback were used to establish a work domain model of the radiotherapy system. From the work domain model, information requirements for interface design were extracted. Some of these requirements suggest the need for novel graphic elements which incorporate multiple treatment parameters for more integrated overviews of the system state. The results from the analysis will be used in the subsequent design phase, which will be aimed at designing a more effective radiotherapy monitoring user interface for improved patient safety.

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Applying usability heuristics to radiotherapy systems

Cited by 42 publications

References 14 publications

User Interface Problems of a Nationwide Inpatient Information System: A Heuristic Evaluation

User Interface Problems of a Nationwide Inpatient Information System: A Heuristic Evaluation

Human factors and ergonomics as a patient safety practice

Work Domain Analysis for Designing a Radiotherapy System Control Interface

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