Clinical Informatics Certification Usability & Human-Computer Interaction 2

Question 1

Which usability evaluation method involves observing real users as they complete tasks without interference from the evaluator?

Accepted Answer

Think-aloud protocol

Answer

The think-aloud protocol has users verbalize their thoughts while performing tasks, giving evaluators insight into real user reasoning and pain points.

Question 2

In clinical EHR design, what does the principle of 'error prevention' in Nielsen's heuristics primarily address?

Accepted Answer

Designing the interface to prevent errors before they happen

Answer

Error prevention focuses on designing the interface so problematic situations are impossible or unlikely to occur, rather than just recovering from them.

Question 3

A nurse consistently selects the wrong medication from a dropdown list because similar drug names appear adjacent. Which HCI principle is most violated?

Accepted Answer

Error prevention

Answer

Adjacent similar drug names in a list create high error risk; the interface should be designed to prevent such selection mistakes, violating the error prevention heuristic.

Question 4

What is the primary goal of a 'formative' usability evaluation compared to a 'summative' evaluation?

Accepted Answer

To identify and fix usability problems during development

Answer

Formative evaluations occur during development to find and fix problems iteratively, while summative evaluations assess a finished product.

Question 5

Which cognitive model describes the time it takes a user to point to a target on a screen based on target size and distance?

Accepted Answer

Fitts's Law

Answer

Fitts's Law predicts that movement time to a target increases with distance and decreases with target size, informing button placement in clinical interfaces.

Clinical Informatics Certification Practice Test

Clinical Informatics Certification Practice Test

Clinical Informatics Certification Usability & Human-Computer Interaction 2