A Cognitive Evaluation of a Clinical Trials Patient Tracking Web Application

Clinical research requires the execution of multiple, simultaneous, and often times complex processes derived from chronologically oriented schemas embodied in protocol documents. This study describes a usability evaluation of a web application designed to automate patient tracking during the execution of clinical trials. The results of the evaluation demonstrate that a number of potential usability issues exist in the described application, especially in the context of potential ambiguity introduced by the use metaphor graphics within a complex chronological presentation model. These findings would appear to support the assertion that more rigorous models of user interface component development are required, especially when designing interfaces to complex biomedical applications.