ibis-ph (indicator-based information system for public health) usability: fall 2009 sam vanous ph.d....
TRANSCRIPT
IBIS-PH (Indicator-Based Information System for Public
Health) Usability: Fall 2009
Sam Vanous Ph.D. HMO Health Program Manager
Utah Department of HealthOffice of Health Care Statistics
Why?
• Supposing is good, but finding out is better.
- Samuel Clemens
• Know thy user, and you are not thy user.- Arnie Lund
• The most common user action on a Web site is to flee.
- Edward Tufte
Early Examples
• 1963: The first mouse was usability tested
• 1981: XEROX usability tested (PARC)
• 1984: It took clients over an hour to install and print a check with Quicken– Took it to the street
• 1987 a usability lab was created for Windows 2.0
Usability Testing
• What exactly is Usability Testing?– Representative users try to accomplish typical
tasks with the product, while staff watch, listen, and take notes.
• Very important: the product is being tested and not the users
• Usability testing allows designers to create products that are functional and intuitive for the users.
Usability Testing
• Why Usability Test?– Identify any usability problems– Collect data on participant’s performance– Determine participant’s satisfaction
• When should it be done?– Early and often
• Prototype Test Analyze• Repeat as often as needed
Methods
• 20 Participants– Users
• 11 light users• 6 medium users• 3 heavy users
– Recruitment• 16 users from UDOH• 4 users with no experience
Methods
• Script– Welcome– Computer/IBIS experience questions– Scenarios– Follow-up questions
Results
• Completion time
• Help (scenario 1)
• Publications (scenario 2)
• Home Page (scenario 3 - not discussed)
• Indicators (scenarios 4, 5, and 6)
• Query (scenario 7)
Completion Time: UDOH
Average Time for Participants to Complete Scenarios:Set 1 (Health Department Employees)
1.61.3
1.7
2.72.3
4.9
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
Scena
rio 1
: Help
Scena
rio 2
: Cur
rent
Issu
e
Scena
rio 4
: Diab
etes
Scena
rio 5
: Uta
hns S
mok
e
Scena
rio 6
: Sec
ond
Hand
Smok
e
Scena
rio 7
:YRBS
Minutes
Average Time
Completion Time: Non-UDOH
Average Time for Participants to Complete Scenarios: Set 1 (Non-Health Department Employees)
2.5 3.25
5.5 5.75
9.25
19
02
468
10
121416
1820
Scena
rio 1
: Help
Scena
rio 2
: Cur
rent
Issu
e
Scena
rio 4
: Diab
etes
Scena
rio 5
: Uta
hns S
mok
e
Scena
rio 6
: Sec
ond
Hand
Smok
e
Scena
rio 7
:YRBS
Minutes
Average Time
Scenario 1: Help
• Varied responses and navigation– Contents and Usage, About IBIS, Links, Help,
and Contact
• Text driven and overwhelming
• Suggestions: – First time user button with consolidated
information (contents, usage, and tutorials)
Home Page
Scenario 2: Publications
• Many users clicked News and Updates tab • Light users had most difficulty• When Publications tab chosen, task still was
difficult. • Search function: not as expected.• Suggestions: Organize Publications as well as
News and Updates to consolidate the two areas, or make them completely separate. A dedicated search engine for IBIS would be appreciated.
Publications
Scenarios 4, 5 and 6: Indicators
• Most found the information, but the manner in which they did it varied greatly
• Categorical index – very confusing• Alphabetical index – easier to understand
– Alphabet bar doesn’t pop, users scroll to correct letter
• Indicators are not organized by key word: smoking, diabetes, etc…
• Suggestions: clean language, change alphabet bar
Indicators
Scenario 7: Queries
• Designed to be the most difficult, especially for light users
• Many searched all over looking for the information: indicators (both indices), publications, queries
• Instead of searching for a target, they are exhausting all other options
• Survey list for queries posed the greatest problem, many did not know what was in each category
• If dataset given, query did not pose a problem• Suggestions: simplify language, or describe in more
detail (rollovers, pop-ups, etc…)
Queries
Outsider Perspective
• Used to see effects of language
• Indices were most troubling for those not familiar with health care
• Time was increased to accomplish tasks
• Indicators were rarely used, individuals did not know what they were
• Confirmed language is a barrier to ease of use
Post Questions
• Individuals are very pleased with IBIS
• Having all the information in one location that can be queried is useful
• The worst feature is the organization and difficulty finding what they are looking for