Evaluation of a High-Risk Clinical Guideline through implementation of Usability Evaluation

Abstract

This paper des cribes the use of heuristic evaluation on a clinical guideline for the treatmentof diabetic ketoacidosis, a medical emergency. After an hour of instruction, two novices tousability testing applied a heuristic tool revealing numerous usability issues in the dom ainsof metaphor, organization, typology and layout. When compared to Nielsen’s principles ofheuristics, the findings identified multiple sources of potential error. A dditionally, thispaper demonstrates that novices to usability testing can perform effective heuristicevaluation with limited training and the use of a heuristic tool. The findings will guideredesign of the studied guideline as well as prompt and more readily accessible usabilitytesting of other high-risk and high-volume clinical guidelines.