Using Goms Models and Hypertext to Create Representations of Medical Procedures for Online Display

Abstract

This study investigated two methods to improve organization and presentation of computer-based medical procedures. A literature review suggested that the GOMS (goals, operators, methods, and selection rules) model can assist in rigorous task analysis, which can then help generate initial design ideas for the human-computer interface. GOMS models are hierarchical in nature, so this study also investigated the effect of hierarchical, hypertext interfaces. We used a 2×2 between subjects design, including the following independent variables: procedure organization - GOMS model based vs. medical-textbook based; navigation type - hierarchical vs. linear (booklike). After naive subjects studied the online procedures, measures were taken of their memory for the content and the organization of the procedures. This design was repeated for two medical procedures. For one procedure, subjects who studied GOMS-based and hierarchical procedures remembered more about the procedures than other subjects. The results for the other procedure were less clear. However, data for both procedures showed a “GOMSification effect”. That is, when asked to do a free recall of a procedure, subjects who had studied a textbook procedure often recalled key information in a location inconsistent with the procedure they actually studied, but consistent with the GOMS-based procedure.

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