A Generic User Interface Architecture for Analyzing Use Hazards in Infusion Pump Software

This paper presents a generic infusion pump user interface (GIP-UI) architecture that intends to capture the common characteristics and functionalities of interactive software incorporated in broad classes of infusion pumps. It is designed to facilitate the identification of use hazards and their causes in infusion pump designs. This architecture constitutes our first effort at establishing a model-based risk analysis methodology that helps manufacturers identify and mitigate use hazards in their products at early stages of the development life-cycle. The applicability of the GIP-UI architecture has been confirmed in a hazard analysis focusing on the number entry software of existing infusion pumps, in which the GIP-UI architecture is used to identify a substantial set of user interface design errors that may contribute to use hazards found in infusion pump incidents

Unreliable numbers: error and harm induced by bad design can be reduced by better design

Number entry is a ubiquitous activity and is often performed in safety- and mission-critical procedures, such as healthcare, science, finance, aviation and in many other areas. We show that Monte Carlo methods can quickly and easily compare the reliability of different number entry systems. A surprising finding is that many common, widely used systems are defective, and induce unnecessary human error. We show that Monte Carlo methods enable designers to explore the implications of normal and unexpected operator behaviour, and to design systems to be more resilient to use error. We demonstrate novel designs with improved resilience, implying that the common problems identified and the errors they induce are avoidable

Safer User Interfaces: A Case Study in Improving Number Entry

Numbers are used in critical applications, including finance, healthcare, aviation, and of course in every aspect of computing. User interfaces for number entry in many devices (calculators, spreadsheets, infusion pumps, mobile phones, etc.) have bugs and design defects that induce unnecessary use errors that compromise their dependability. Focusing on Arabic key interfaces, which use digit keys 0-9-· usually augmented with correction keys, this paper introduces a method for formalising and managing design problems. Since number entry and devices such as calculators have been the subject of extensive user interface research since at least the 1980s, the diverse design defects uncovered imply that user evaluation methodologies are insufficient for critical applications. Likewise, formal methods are not being applied effectively. User interfaces are not trivial and more attention should be paid to their correct design and implementation. The paper includes many recommendations for designing safer number entry user interfaces

From premature semantics to mature interaction programming

As HCI has progressed as a discipline, perhaps just as time has passed, the engineering work of programming has become increasingly separated from the HCI, the core user interface design work. At the same time, the sophistication of digital devices, across multiple dimensions, has grown exponentially. The result is that HCI and User Experience (UX) professionals and programmers now work in very different worlds. This separation causes problems for users: the UX is attractive but the program is unreliable, or the program is reliable but unattractive or unhelpful to use, correctly implementing the wrong thing. In this chapter, we dig down from this high-level view to get to what we identify as a new sort of fundamental problem, one we call premature semantics. Premature semantics must be recognised and understood by name by UX and HCI practitioners and addressed by programmers

Reasons to Question Seven Segment Displays

Seven segment number displays are ubiquitous and popular. They are simple and familiar. They seem to make economic sense, and with only seven segments they require little wiring and electronics to support. They are cheap to buy and cheap to use; they make seemingly effective and unproblematic products. This paper illustrates many examples of problematic uses of seven segment displays that could have been better managed or even avoided. More generally, the paper raises design questions and some solutions to be considered when designing numerical displays, and certainly before uncritically using seven segment displays. Although there are markets and applications where cost may be an overriding consideration, for safety critical and other dependable types of use (including general purpose devices that may sometimes be used for critical tasks) more legible alternatives than standard seven segment displays should be preferred. Author Keywords Seven segment display; number display; number error