Building a Better Interface
The Original Design
The Composite Health Care System (CHCS) is used by healthcare workers in the U.S. armed forces as a primary information management system.
However, the CHCS text-based interface is time consuming and frustrating to use. A better alternative was needed.
The Redesign
Walter Reed Army Medical Center contracted with PSE to critique the text-based CHCS interface and develop an improved alternative.
The Approach
PSE conducted a function and task analysis on several types of nursing order entry tasks to identify features of the text-based interface that hamper user performance.
The Solution
Task analysis results were used to critique the text-based interface and to design a new GUI prototype.
Benefits
Advantages of the GUI prototype relative to the text-based interface:
- Easier to learn
- Twice as fast to use (saves up to 1.5 hours/day)
- 1/3 as many errors
- Greater user satisfaction
- Less time spent on record keeping
- More time for patient care
