Facilitating the iterative design of informatics tools to advance the science of autism

David R. Kaufman, Patrick Cronin, Leon Rozenblit, David Voccola, Amanda Horton, Alisabeth Shine, Stephen B. Johnson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper describes a usability evaluation study of an innovative first generation system (Data Dig) designed to retrieve phenotypic data from the large SFARI data set of 2700 families each of which has one child affected with autism spectrum disorder. The usability methods included a cognitive walkthrough and usability testing. Although the subjects were able to learn to use the system, more than 50 usability problems of varying severity were noted. The problems with the greatest frequency resulted from users being unable to understand meanings of variables, filter categories correctly, use the Boolean filter, and correctly interpret the feedback provided by the system. Subjects had difficulty forming a mental model of the organizational system underlying the database. This precluded them from making informed navigation choices while formulating queries. Clinical research informatics is a new and immensely promising discipline. However in its nascent stage, it lacks a stable interaction paradigm to support a range of users on pertinent tasks. This presents great opportunity for researchers to further this science by harnessing the powers of user-centered iterative design.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationUser Centred Networked Health Care - Proceedings of MIE 2011
PublisherIOS Press
Pages955-959
Number of pages5
ISBN (Print)9781607508052
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011
Event23rd International Conference of the European Federation for Medical Informatics, MIE 2011 - Oslo, Norway
Duration: Aug 28 2011Aug 31 2011

Publication series

NameStudies in Health Technology and Informatics
Volume169
ISSN (Print)0926-9630
ISSN (Electronic)1879-8365

Other

Other23rd International Conference of the European Federation for Medical Informatics, MIE 2011
Country/TerritoryNorway
CityOslo
Period8/28/118/31/11

Keywords

  • Clinical research informatics
  • Iterative design
  • Usability evaluation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Health Informatics
  • Health Information Management

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Facilitating the iterative design of informatics tools to advance the science of autism'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this