Title
The think aloud method: a guide to user interface design.
Abstract
Clinical use of computer systems has been hampered by their poorly designed user interfaces. The objective of this study was to design a user interface for a pediatric oncologists' computerized patient record with great consideration of their working behavior and of human computer interfacing principles so as to contribute to oncologists' efficiency and satisfaction in interaction with the system.The think aloud method was used in combination with video recording to get a deep understanding of the way in which four pediatric oncologists searched through the paper-based patient record in preparing a patient visit. Protocol and video analyses was used to develop a cognitive task model reflecting pediatric oncologists' task behavior. This model was input for a prototype user interface, which was subsequently evaluated by eight other pediatric oncologists.The resulting computerized medical record system proved to meet pediatric oncologists' information needs and task behavior patterns. The design of the user interface minimized pediatric oncologists' work load and was highly efficient in supporting the pediatric oncologists in preparing their patient visits. The pediatric oncologists were very much satisfied with the computer system.It is argued that early involvement of cognitive engineering methods in the system design process may be of great help in designing systems that fully support health care professionals' work practices. The think aloud method, if applied under prescribed conditions, is a valuable information source of human task-behavior and as such a useful technique for requirements analysis in designing clinical computer systems.
Year
DOI
Venue
2004
10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2004.08.003
International Journal of Medical Informatics
Keywords
Field
DocType
User interface design,Cognitive engineering,Think aloud method,Human computer interaction
Health care,Information needs,Computer science,Requirements analysis,Human–computer interaction,Medical record,Think aloud protocol,User interface,User interface design,Cognitive ergonomics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
73
11
1386-5056
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
56
2.56
19
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Monique W M Jaspers119610.21
Thiemo Steen2562.56
Cor van den Bos3562.89
M M Geenen4593.01