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Table 4 Problems detected by the two methods in terms of usability attributes

From: A combination of two methods for evaluating the usability of a hospital information system

Satisfaction

HE

TA

The use of different colors for buttons, text fields, and links;

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The emergence of problems such as the lack of page heading and the invisibility of the actions;

 

+

The existence of redundant checkboxes, icons, and text fields;

+

 

The presence of crowded system pages and the inappropriate division of all pages into three separate panels;

 

+

A failure to design the main menu as dropdown menu buttons;

 

+

The inappropriate layout and design of the tables, especially when they are empty;

+

 

The display of two or more items concerning patient information in a text field (e.g., a patient’s name and code) and the possibility of moving the pointer in that text field;

+

 

A failure in specifying the default option for radio buttons;

+

 

The inaccessibility of the required information for nurses on the system pages (e.g., patients’ name, diagnosis and problem, medical history, and blood group);

 

+

The application of inappropriate colors for page backgrounds;

 

+

The use of inappropriate colors for the fonts like red and the small font sizes of the buttons;

 

+

Effectiveness

HE

TA

The inappropriate function of the buttons (e.g., a button called “New” fails to remove all fields by a single click);

+

 

The use of a different language for tooltips of icons and buttons;

+

 

The impossibility of creating reports at desired times;

+

 

The impossibility of printing some reports;

+

 

The lack of a breadcrumb element to display different steps for completing the tasks;

 

+

The inappropriate location and title of operational buttons;

 

+

The lack of feedback presentation regarding the users’ activities;

 

+

The inaccessible and inefficient search interface of the system;

 

+

The lack of any indication to push a required functional button such as “hospitalization order” in inpatient admission system;

 

+

The use of inappropriate labels of “outpatient admission” for the button designed for the referral of a patient from an emergency room to an inpatient ward;

 

+

Efficiency

HE

TA

Inability to print or exit by clicking on the “Print” button in some pages;

+

 

A need for pushing the “Backspace” button to be able to exit from some system sections;

+

 

The movement to another page instead of the previous page when pushing the “Undo” button;

+

 

The lack of ability to close some windows;

+

 

The lack of permission to search for the patients by the home screen of the inpatient admission system;

 

+

The presence of efficiency compromising problems such as the need for scrolling, navigating different pages, and taking various steps to perform a task;

 

+

The lack of a button for returning to the home page and patient information page;

 

+

The poor design of data entry fields such as failure to show the first data entry field by blinking cursor and the lack of distinction between the required and optional fields;

 

+

The lack of an interface for searching medication orders, laboratory test requests, and para-clinical procedures in the nursing information system;

 

+

A need for regular switching between mouse clicks and keystrokes to enter the data;

 

+

Learnability

HE

TA

The poor design and unclear functioning of some components such as checkboxes;

+

 

The inappropriate shape of some icons;

+

 

The use of similar icons for different tasks, as well as different icons for similar tasks;

+

 

The display of user login information in unrelated fields;

+

 

The lack of labels for text fields and checkboxes or the display of labels only in tooltips;

+

 

Inappropriate and incomprehensible label for operating buttons such as “Close referral” and “Create referral”;

 

+

The ambiguous layout of the main menu options in the nursing information system;

 

+

Inappropriate labels for the subcategories of the main menu;

 

+

A need for remembering information from a location to another location due to the information dispersion and the lack of separation between physicians and nurses information;

 

+

The lack of a system help for the users;

 

+

Error

HE

TA

The lack of an error message when typing unauthorized characters in most entry text fields;

+

 

The lack of Inline Validation of Data Entry Forms;

+

 

The display of redundant error messages if clicked or right-clicked on some items;

+

 

The lack of an error message when entering the wrong information in some fields, instead, the system completely hangs and fails;

+

 

The possibility of searching with blank fields and the unauthorized change of patients information without receiving any error message;

+

 

The demonstration of inappropriate error messages in response to the users’ mistakes;

+

 

The use of varied colors for hyperlinks;

+

 

The impossibility of easy error fixation (e.g., the cursor does not blink in the incomplete fields);

 

+

The induction for entering information in fixed fields due to using inappropriate colors for these fields;

 

+

The use of similar colors for distinct buttons, which leads to the impression of a relationship between these buttons;

 

+

The display of the wrong message like “No patient is registered with this information” instead of “This patient had no previous encounter”;

 

+