To paraphrase a popular saying, usability testing
should be done early and often. However, it doesn't have
to be an onerous process. Informative, practical, and
engaging, Usability Testing of Medical Devices provides
a simple, easy to implement general understanding of
usability testing. It offers a general understanding of
usability testing and reviews key concepts, highlighting
the challenges of validating that protects against
dangerous errors that could lead to patient injury and
death. The book has been carefully designed to be
concise and visually, easily read in one sitting or
perused from one section to another as needed It begins
with a review of human factors engineering and how
usability testing fits in, and then discusses the
government regulations and industry standards that have
motivated many medical device manufacturers to conduct
usability tests. It then covers the nitty-gritty of
planning, conducting, and reporting the results of a
usability test, making the process as smooth and
painless as possible for the development team, and
therefore making the medical devices they develop as
safe, effective, and appealing as possible.As you read
the book, keep in mind that, like snowflakes, each
usability test is unique. And while 100 usability
specialists working independently might take 100
different approaches to testing, albeit with
considerable methodological overlap, there would also be
meaningful differences that the practitioners would
energetically defend as the best given the
circumstances. To make your testing process easier, the
authors, seasoned human factors specialists who have
conducted thousands of test sessions involving medical
devices used by physicians, nurses, therapists,
technicians, and patients, have painstakingly put
together an informative, practical, and engaging
handbook for conducting usability tests of medical
devices. |
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