NR 543 W6 Usability Assessment Guidelines Assignment

Usability assessment measures how easy technology is to use and whether people can complete tasks using the technological system under consideration. It helps identify problems with usability and provides solutions on how to use various aspects of the system. By making sure that the technology system is easy to use, hospitals can improve patient care and reduce medical errors. The whole process should be conducted early in the design process to address any issues before the technology is finalized and released (Mlekus et al., 2020). Electronic Health Records (EHR) is one system that relies on usability assessment before implementation is done. EHR usability assessment often involves heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthroughs, and focus groups. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the role of usability considerations in the design, use, and acceptance of technology; identify features that impact usability, and compare the merits of different usability-assessment methods.

Background on Function/Information System Assessed

For this assignment, the information system assessed was the EHR System commonly used to manage patients’ information. By definition, an EHR system is a medical information system that stores patients’ health information in an electronic format (Mlekus et al., 2020). Design elements of an EHR system include the following: Patient Demographics comprising basic patient information, such as name, date of birth, and sex; Clinical Information, which includes all the clinical data collected from a patient’s visit to a provider, such as medications prescribed, lab results, and problem list; Administrative Information comprising billing and insurance information, as well as other administrative data.

The EHR system’s design often considers the needs of all stakeholders – providers, nurses, clerks, pharmacists, and administrators. A health record is a compilation of a person’s medical history. Electronic health records are digital versions of this information that can be accessed by authorized providers and staff within the healthcare system. The purpose of electronic health records is to provide healthcare providers with secure, on-demand access to a patient’s medical history, which can then inform decisions about care (Lowry et al., 2015). Additionally, EHRs can help improve communication among providers and ensure that critical patient information is available wherever and whenever it is needed.

In my healthcare organization, the EHR system under consideration has been in use for the last five years; it has aided patient data management and ensured quality improvement in healthcare delivery processes. Healthcare professionals, including myself, have been regular users of this system. As a result, there is an advanced understanding of different aspects of the system (Lowry et al., 2015). I have experience with electronic health record (EHR) systems from provider and patient perspectives. From my experience, EHRs are a valuable tool for providers because they allow us to quickly and easily access patient information. This is especially helpful when we are providing care for multiple patients simultaneously.

Patients also appreciate EHRs because they can view their medical history online and receive appointment reminders via email or text message. Additionally, many EHR systems offer patients the ability to communicate with their providers electronically via secure messaging (Lowry et al., 2015). This feature is especially beneficial for patients who live far from the clinic or who have a busy lifestyle and cannot always make it to the clinic for an in-person visit.

 

Usability Assessment Graded Assignment #3 Guidelines & Grading Rubric

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to

• recognize the role of usability considerations in the design, use, and acceptance of technology;
• identify features that impact usability; and
• weigh the advantages of different usability-assessment methods.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource

 

 

Due Date: Submit to the Dropbox basket by Sunday 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 6.

 

Total points: 125

 

Requirements

Select a software application, preferably an information system that you currently use in your work setting, to assess usability. You

may personally test the application or solicit the participation of another party. You have the option to do one of the following:

• Address a list of questions that you create or adopt from a source that you will identify.
• Ask another party, via guided discussion, to assess the usability of the specified function/information system.
• Observe a user completing the identified function, noting the length of time required for completion, any obstacles, and at the conclusion of the task, ask for an impression on usability/issues. An example of a usability tool is included as an Appendix in the Lowry et al. (2012) reference on customized templates.

If you do not currently have access to an automated system, then speak with your instructor to determine a mutually agreeable alternative.

Lowry, S. Z., Quinn, M. T.,  Ramaiah, M., Schumacher, R. M., Patterson, E. S., North, R., Zhang, J., Gibbons, M. C.,  & Abbott, P. (2012). Technical evaluation, testing and validation of the usability of electronic health records. Retrieved from

Preparing the Paper

1. Required texts may be used as additional
2. All aspects of the paper must be in APA format as expressed in the current edition.
3. The paper (excluding the title page and reference page) should not be longer than 5 pages.
4. Ideas and information from professional sources must be cited correctly.
5. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, format of the text, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing and APA.
6. Minimum number of scholarly references is: three (3).

 

Category	Points	%	Description
Introduction	20	17	Introduction presents the topic of usability assessment.
Background on function/information system assessed	22	17	Provides detailed information on the function/information system assessed for usability that includes its purpose and approximate length of time that the function/information system has been available in its present format and student familiarity with the application used.
Method of assessment	22	17	Assessment method used and problems, or potential problems, identified.
Evidence-based recommendations	21	17	Provides evidence-based recommendations to resolve each problem identified.
Conclusion	21	17	Concluding statements summarize insights gained during the assignment.
APA format	6	5	Text, title page, and reference page(s) are  consistent with APA format.
References and citations	6	5	Ideas and information from other sources are cited correctly.
Mechanics of writing	7	5	Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are consistent with formal written work.
	125	100	A quality assignment will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.

 

 

Usability Assessment Grading Rubric

Assignment Criteria	Exceptional (100%) Outstanding or highest level of performance	Exceeds (88%) Very good or high level of performance	Meets (80%) Competent or satisfactory level of performance	Needs Improvement (38%) Poor or failing level of performance	Developing (0) Unsatisfactory level of performance
Content Possible Points = 106 Points
Introduction	20 Points	18 Points	16 Points	8 Points	0 Points
	Introduction presents the topic of usability assessment in nursing informatics and names the key sections of the paper.	Introduction presents the topic of usability assessment in nursing informatics and names some key sections of the paper.	Introduction does not present the topic of usability assessment in nursing informatics OR does not name the key sections of the paper.	Introduction does not present the topic of usability assessment in nursing informatics AND does not name the key sections of the paper	Introduction is not present.
Background on function/information system assessed	22 Points	20 Points	18 Points	8 Points	0 Points
	Provides a clear description on the function/information system assessed that includes its purpose, length of time in use in the setting, and user familiarity (regular user, occasional user, new user).	Provides a description on the function/information system assessed that includes its purpose, length of time in use in the setting, and user familiarity (regular user, occasional user, new user).	Provides very limited information on the function/information system assessed.	Provides very little information on the function/information system assessed.	Provides no information on the function/information system assessed.
Method of assessment	22 Points	20 Points	18 Points	8 Points	0 Points
	Provides information on method for usability assessment and problems, or potential problems identified.	Provides information on method for usability assessment and its advantages.	Provides limited information on assessment measures.	Provides very limited information on assessment measures.	Provides no information on assessment measures.
Evidence-based recommendations	21 Points	19 Points	17 Points	8 Points	0 Points
	Evidence-based recommendations to resolve each problem are presented and discussed in detail.	Evidence-based recommendations to resolve each problem are presented but discussion is limited.	Evidence-based recommendations to resolve each problem are presented but not discussed.	Evidence-based recommendations to resolve each problem are not presented	Evidence-based recommendations are not discussed.
Conclusion	21 Points	19 Points	17 Points	8 Points	0 Points
	Concluding statements clearly summarize insights gained during the assignment.	Concluding statements include insights gained during the assignment.	Concluding statements include a partial summary of the insights gained during the assignment.	Concluding statements do not summarize insights gained during the assignment.	Conclusion is not present.
Content Subtotal					_____of 106 Points
Format Possible Points =   19 Points
APA format	6 Points	5 Points	4 Points	2 Points	0 Points
	0–3 errors in use of APA format in title page, body of the paper, references, or appendix.	4–6 errors in use of APA format in title page, body of the paper, references, or appendix.	7–8 errors in use of APA format in title page, body of the paper, references, or appendix.	9 errors in use of APA format in title page, body of the paper, references, or appendix.	10 or more errors in use of APA format in title page, body of the paper, references, or appendix.
References and citations	6 Points	5 Points	4 Points	2 Points	0 Points
	At least 3 scholarly references are provided. Texts may be used as additional references.   AND Ideas and information from other sources are cited correctly.	Only 2 scholarly references are provided. AND Ideas and information from other sources are cited correctly.	Only 1 scholarly reference is provided.   AND There are errors in the citation of ideas and information from other sources.	There are multiple errors in the citation of ideas and information from other sources.	No scholarly references are provided.
Mechanics of writing	7 Points	6 Points	5 Points	2 Points	0 Points
	0–3 errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other aspects of formal academic writing. Paper meets page restrictions.	4–6 errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other aspects of formal academic writing. Paper meets page restrictions.	7–8 errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other aspects of formal academic writing. OR Paper does not meet page restrictions.	9 errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other aspects of formal academic	10 or more errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other aspects of formal academic writing.
Format Subtotal				_____of 19 Points
Total Points					_____of  125 Points

Usability Assignment FAQs

Q: Do I understand correctly that this week’s paper is to be an assessment of how easy it is to use the system that I used in my workflow analysis assignment?

A: While the original intent of the course design was that you might use one system for each of the course assignments, the selection of the system is up to you to determine so that it is a valuable learning experience for you.

Q: If I understand it correctly, I am supposed to utilize heuristics and individual interviews to find that problem, and potentially others, and then come up with a solution for the problem(s)? Do I need to come up with more than one problem, and find solutions for each, or just one problem?

A: You are correct that you should use “heuristics” and may use individual interviews to identify a problem or problems although there are several options for assessing usability in addition to interviews. As one example, Lowry et al (2012) at the URL noted in the below reference, provides a list of questions within the appendix that may be helpful to some of you as you try to find a usability scale (questions) or to come up with your own questions. While the document does have some useful tidbits for those of you who want to immediately cut to the chase and look towards the end of the document, the idea is to give you a list of some questions. There are other tools available to provide sample questions as well.

Lowry, S. Z., Quinn, M. T., Ramaiah, M., Schumacher, R. M., Patterson, E. S., North, R., Zhang, J., Gibbons, M. C.,  & Abbott, P. (2012). Technical evaluation, testing and validation of the usability of electronic health records. Retrieved from http://www.nist.gov/healthcare/usability/upload/EUP_WERB_Version_2_23_12-Final-2.pdf

Q: Could you talk a little bit more about the different methods on the guidelines?

A: Please see comments below relative to some examples of the different methods.

1)      Address a list of questions that you create or adopt from a source that you will identify (an example of adopted questions might be the referenced appendix).

2)      Ask another party, via guided discussion, to assess the usability of the specified function/information system. This could be an interview. It would not even need to be in proximity of the system.

3)      Observe a user completing the identified function, noting the length of time required for completion, any obstacles, and at the conclusion of the task, ask for an impression on usability/issues. An example of a usability tool is included as an Appendix in the Lowry et al (2012) reference. This might be an observation of one or more users WITH OR WITHOUT their knowledge, then followed by your questions and an assessment of what your observations and what you were told match.

You could also assess the usability of the system yourself.

Q: I don’t have a system available to me. What do I do?

A: Remember that everyone has a system available to them—the library, your online bank, your student records—even a website that provides information about your child’s homework assignments.

I hope that helps. If you still have questions, we can set a time to speak. Send me an e-mail and your phone number, time zone, and preferred times.

Q: I’m thinking the problems we are to identify are problems with the system we are assessing with the usability assessment, and then the next step is to find EBP recommendations to fix the problems with the system?

A: Yes—that is the idea ALTHOUGH perhaps you thought that the system seemed well-designed, but you thought you had  a problem with your own walk-through of the system,  such as that you don’t use all the functions or for some reason may not be the best “judge”? Or if you have a focus group, perhaps there were questions with what you asked the group? Just a few ideas of related problems that you might address via the literature.

Q: If I were to have an appendix that contains a questionnaire, would it be counted towards the maximum 5-page limit?

A: That is a great question. My inclination is to say “no”, that you have 5 pages of content that would exclude cover page, references, and appendix. I hope that helps.

Q: If we find the usability is poor due to too many clicks, slowness, or confusing UI’s, I am not sure how I would find EBP to demonstrate how I would fix this. I can find documentation and studies showing that information systems are better accepted and function better with easy-to-navigate UI’s, but not specifically what type of UI and speed is best. Am I reading too much into this section?

A: If you have evidence (and in research studies) that shows that decreasing the number of steps/screens led to improved user satisfaction, better completion, or compliance, that would be evidence for that section. It is not always possible to find studies that focus on a specific application, so we need to look at evidence that can be generalized to our purposes. I hope that helps. Confusing screen design no doubt also has considerable research as in what is the “ideal” placement of important information on a screen.