Comments on: What Usability Is and How to Recognize It

By: Erik Stavlund

Erik Stavlund — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:09:15 +0000

I think one major issue not mentioned here is that many users choose a system not for how it looks but what it does. It can have wonderful usability, but if it can not accomodate the customers business practices… who cares?

Thus customers will time and again choose products that may not be easy to use but will fulfill their needs. It’s the classic case of form over function. Until a product successfully merges the two concepts, the functional app will win everytime.

By: Olivier Forget

Olivier Forget — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:57:03 +0000

It’s nice to see an article on usability in healthcare apps.

I think the younger generation of doctors will be much more attentive to usability defects. If they see that their iPhones are representative of the way usability is supposed to be done, they may not have much patience for archaic systems. And hopefully they will eventually have enough clout to recommend that a better system be bought. So all it’s going to take is a generation…

I try hard to build good usability into my product (medical resident scheduling software). I would say it’s a lot more work but it probably pays for itself with reduced tech support.

By: Nancy Mann

Nancy Mann — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:51:27 +0000

I read this article with great interest because I’m usability consultant working with a small surgical practice to update from paper to electronic medical records. I’m surprised to find that there are so few people from my profession in the health care industry. Usability is not a panacea for solving all of the problems of poor system design, but it does offer practical techniques for creating or improving what’s out there.

By: Dancing Geek-to-Geek

Dancing Geek-to-Geek — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:10:39 +0000

Quite right, Dr. Bradford, thank you. I believe though, that most front line users of major applications simply don’t have the opportunity to walk away. I’ve seen major applications (costing million$ to implement) brought in and the users had little or no say in the decision, regardless of usability issues. Unfortunately, even when some on the evaluation teams know a thing or two about usability, those concerns are often over ruled by a manager’s concerns for costs, or a vendor sales spiel, some vague personal preference, or who-knows-what.

I know of a large hospital, for example, that is deeply entrenched in a financial application package that has the worst usability I’ve seen in my 30 yrs. Yet, because one person hammered and campagned relentlessly for it (it was the only tech tool in this manager’s non-tech background) the execs went for it. Now they’re stuck long term.

By: Dalai

Dalai — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:41:04 +0000

Excellent article, and I agree 100% with the conclusion. I’ve been saying this sort of thing for quite a while now with respect to PACS: http://doctordalai.blogspot.com/2006/03/feature-fatigue-and-lego-pacs.html