Project Experience
Recent projects we have been involved in are described under the following areas:
Review of Usability Test Protocol (July 11)
Client: Unomedical A/S, Denmark
- Reviewed a protocol to conduct a summative usability test of an infusion set in the United States
- Provided recommendations on protocol design and implementation
Usability Evaluation of Advanced Wound Healing Device (March 11)
Client: KCI Medical Products (UK) Ltd
- Conducted a cognitive walkthrough of a new wound healing device
- Identified usability issues and provided recommendations on usability validation activities
Formative usability test of a drug delivery device (Dec 10)
Client: Johnson & Johnson
- Conducted interviews/contextual enquiries with participants to identify usability issues with prototypes
- Analysed results and provided design recommendations
Research Study into Medical Device Training Requirements in Europe, North America and Australasia (Nov 10)
Client: KCI Medical Products (UK) Ltd
- Technical review of training requirements in the use of medical devices across global regions
- Provided recommendations on undertaking usability studies in those areas
Usability Integration into Product Design & Development (Aug 10)
Client: SPD Development Company Ltd
- Assisted with the development of a usability programme
- Advised on cross-cultural usability studies
Cross-cultural Usability Testing and Analysis of Medical Devices (Oct 09 - Mar 10)
Client: KCI Medical Products (UK) Ltd
- Carried out a large scale literature review into cross-cultural usability
- Developed a cross-cultural usability tool for comparing user-interface characteristics across cultures
- Training was delivered in cross-cultural usability analysis and testing
Heuristic Evaluation of an Advanced Wound Therapy Unit (Aug 09)
Client: KCI Medical Products (UK) Ltd
- Heuristic evaluations of KCI’s products were carried out, such as the VAC ATS device for advanced wound healing
- This involved inspecting the design of the user-interface and evaluating its compliance to usability heuristics on medical device design
Research Study into GP Trainees' Perceptions of Patient Safety-related Issues in First 12 Weeks of Training (July-Sept 11)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- Conducted semi-structured interviews with GP Trainees across Scotland
- Investigated patient safety concerns and usability issues of the GPST checklist
Collective learning of medication errors in secondary care (in progress)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- Conducted an observational analysis of activities relating to medication management
- Carried out semi-structured interviews with risk managers and staff involved in medication management
Large-scale review of the causes of multi-profession patient safety incidents in NHS Scotland (Sept 09 - Apr 10)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- This review involved identifying the contributing factors involved in patient safety incidents across multiple professions in NHS Scotland, covering both community and hospital care.
Development of E-learning Patient Safety Module (Feb 10)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- Developed training material for junior doctors on how to manage human error
- Topic areas included human performance, human error, human factors and error management
NHS Scotland Maternity Services Cultural Survey (Feb 08 - May 08)
Client: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS)
- Contributed to an organisational culture study covering topics such as patient safety and incident reporting
- Designed, conducted and analysed semi-structured interviews with midwives, obstetricians and anaesthetists
Learning from Significant Events in Primary Care and Pharmacy Practice (Aug 06 - Jan 08)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- Analysis of the effectiveness and educational issues relating to Significant Event Analysis (SEA) in Primary Care and Pharmacy Practice
- Content analysis of SEA reports submitted by general practitioners and pharmacists. Identification of types of incidents, the causes, learning that took place and any changes that were implemented
- Questionnaire Survey of General Practitioners to identify educational needs and barriers towards SEA
Research Study into Medical Device Training Requirements in Europe, North America and Australasia (Nov 10)
Client: KCI Medical Products (UK) Ltd
- Technical review of training requirements in the use of medical devices across global regions
- Provided recommendations on undertaking usability studies in those areas
Usability Integration into Product Design & Development (Aug 10)
Client: SPD Development Company Ltd
- Assisted with the development of a usability programme
- Advised on cross-cultural usability studies
Cross-cultural Usability Testing and Analysis of Medical Devices (Oct 09 - Mar 10)
Client: KCI Medical Products (UK) Ltd
- Carried out a large scale literature review into cross-cultural usability
- Developed a cross-cultural usability tool for comparing user-interface characteristics across cultures
- Training was delivered in cross-cultural usability analysis and testing
Collective learning of medication errors in secondary care (Oct 09 - Nov 11)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- Conducted an observational analysis of activities relating to medication management
- Carried out semi-structured interviews with risk managers and staff involved in medication management
Online racket-sports services: exploring the needs of tennis, squash and badminton players and clubs in the UK (July 09 - Feb 10)
Project: Court9
- Carried out semi-structured interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders, including players, coaches and club representatives
- Helped prioritise and link stakeholders’ needs to web-based design solutions
NHS Scotland Maternity Services Cultural Survey (Feb 08 - May 08)
Client: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS)
- Contributed to an organisational culture study covering topics such as patient safety and incident reporting
- Designed, conducted and analysed semi-structured interviews with midwives, obstetricians and anaesthetists
Research Study into GP Trainees' Perceptions of Patient Safety-related Issues in First 12 Weeks of Training (July-Sept 11)
Client: NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
- Conducted semi-structured interviews with GP Trainees across Scotland
- Investigated patient safety concerns and usability issues of the GPST checklist
User Trial for Ministry of Defence (Nov 09 - Dec 09)
Client: HFE Solutions Ltd
- Observational and video analysis of soldiers interacting with communication technologies
Human Factors Review of NNL Policies regarding Health and Safety (June 09 - Aug 09)
Client: National Nuclear Laboratory
- Provided human factors input to a best practice review of cave systems containing nuclear material
- Carried out observational analyses of key personnel involved in the storage and transportation of material
- Human factors issues were identified and recommendations were provided on how to improve policies and working practice
Human Factors Support to Oil and Gas Companies (Jan 08 to March 09)
Clients: BP, National Grid, Conoco Phillips, TGT
- Carried out human reliability assessments with engineers and technicians
- Analysed safety-critical tasks and the risk of human failures
- Conducted evaluations of control rooms
- Delivered training in human factors and human reliability assessment
Ergonomic Workstation Assessment and Workplace Evaluation (Feb 10 - Mar 10)
Client: Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc
- Conducted standard assessments and provided recommendations for helping an individual return to work after injury
DSE and Workplace risk assessments (Aug 09)
Client: Scottish Refugee Council
- Conducted various standard assessments for personnel within a public sector organisation to identify display screen equipment health and safety risks
User-Interface Design of Court9 (in progress)
Partner: Court9
- Conceptual design workshops were undertaken using storyboards and wireframe prototyping
- Heuristic evaluations were carried out to identify usability issues
Usability Study of 'Second Life' for Physiotherapy Education (Feb 10 - Sept 10)
Client: University of East London (UEL)
- Carried out a contextual enquiry to explore students' interactions with a virtual ward environment on Second Life
- Conducted semi-structured interviews to investigate the effectiveness of Second Life for learning tasks
Integration of Usability into Product Development (Aug 05 to Nov 06)
Client: Graham Technology plc (now Sword Ciboodle)
- Developed user-centred design framework
- Formed multidisciplinary usability team and set-up quality assurance processes
- Carried out various usability techniques, such as cognitive walkthrough, contextual inquiry, heuristic evaluations, task analysis workshops, etc.
Support to User-Interface Design Activities (Aug 05 to Nov 06)
Client: Scottish Power, Standard Bank, Smart Telecom
- Delivered training courses covering topics on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), ergonomics, cognitive psychology and User-Centred Design (UCD)
- Designed, analysed and tested user-interfaces for a wide range of clients in the telecommunication, banking and retail sectors
Usability Analysis of self-service technologies (2002)
Client: NCR
- Designed, conducted and analysed the results from large-scale usability studies. into the use of ATMs by different user groups, such as elderly and disabled people
- Explored both physical and cognitive interactions with products