User Interface: Poor Designs Hinder Adoption
Kai Zheng · Productivity Press eBooks · 2019
User interfaces (UIs) are “the means by which the user and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input devices and software.” In healthcare, cognitively efficient and visually appealing software UI is essential to time efficiency, user satisfaction, and quality of care and patient safety. In the health informatics research literature, there is no shortage of methods for studying and improving healthcare UI. Many of these methods were originally developed in domains such as ergonomics, human factors, cognitive science, and human–computer interaction. Unlike functional requirements that can be readily assessed using scripted test scenarios, usability of health information technology can be difficult to measure and generalize. UI is only one source of usability pitfalls. Some usability problems may originate from other factors, such as intersystem dependencies and the lack of consideration of the socio-technical contexts in which users and software systems are situated.