Efficient Input Solutions for User Interfaces Primarily Intendedfor Information Presentations

Abstract: The user interfaces of administrative information systems are typically based on screens serving both input and output functions. However, in numerous usage situations, such as healthcare, the primary purpose of these screens involves providing information to professionals. Therefore, these screens could be highly optimised using spatial and visual cues to support efficient search and reading. Accordingly, this thesis conducted a literature review to understand the drawbacks of the available interface solutions and how screens could potentially be optimised for information presentation. To delimit the thesis scope, reading and searching medical records constituted the main focus of the review. The results indicated that the cognitive cost of visual clutter and scrolling could hinder the reading process. Moreover, related work and recommendations on designing support for finding and reading information were reviewed. However, a method to enter and update the data was perceived to be missing. Therefore, a general design hypothesis was suggested to enable input on screens optimised for reading. The central theme of the input solution focussed on preserving the screen’s original layout. This was accomplished using separated, yet fixed panels containing only the necessary instructions for each input task. Furthermore, the interface supports users by providing visual feedback on their actions and the system status. Following this, the keystroke-level model (KLM) was used to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed solution for expert users. The results demonstrated that the solution could be as efficient as, or in some cases, better than the conventional interfaces. Finally, an empirical study was conducted with 16 participants to evaluate the solution’s efficiency for inexperienced users who briefly interact with the concept of reading screens. The results indicated that the reading screen scored significantly better than the standard option in terms of task times and mouse travel averages.