Augmentation of the think aloud method with users' perspectives for the selection of a picture archiving and communication system.

OBJECTIVES

Users attitude toward a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and their interaction with this system are among the most important factors that influence its acceptance. This study aimed to augment the user's interaction with the user's perspective to select a usable PACS among three systems available on the market.

METHODS

We augmented the think aloud (TA) usability evaluation method with the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) to compare user interaction problems of three PACS user interfaces. Four radiologists and four internist physicians participated in this study. Usability characteristics including efficiency, effectiveness, learnability, error, and satisfaction were used to assess the usability of each PACS.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference in efficiency (p = 0.01), effectiveness (p = 0.005), learnability (p = 0.001), and satisfaction (p = 0.009). However, no significant difference in the number of errors (p = 0.18), mouse clicks and keystrokes (p = 0.12), and the number of usability problems (p = 0.6) were observed among the three PACS systems studied.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that applying the proposed approach to augment TA with the user's perspective addresses almost all of the theoretical aspects of usability and can be employed to select the most usable PACS.