Healthcare Analytics for Quality and Performance Improvement

CHAPTER 10

Usability and Presentation of Information

[Design is] not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

—Steve Jobs

Besides accuracy and timeliness, usability and accessibility are two of the most important qualities of effective analytics. Software that is not easy to use, for example, only results in frustration for the end users, who will then generate countless workarounds to bypass the source of frustration. If, on the other hand, software is easy to use, people are more likely to use the tool more often and be able to focus more on the task at hand. The usability and accessibility of analytics follow very much in the same vein.

One aspect of usability is presentation and visualization of information. Not everyone who needs information and insight for decision making, however, will be directly accessing a portal or other analytical tool, or will be a “professional” analyst used to working with data in multiple formats. Therefore, making the insights generated via analytics more accessible and easy to use by applying best practices in data visualization and presentation helps to ensure that the desired message is communicated clearly and effectively.

Presentation and Visualization of Information

People cannot use information they cannot understand or make sense of. The clear and appropriate use of graphs, charts, and other data visualizations can facilitate understanding of patterns in data, enable rapid evidence-based decision making, and effectively ...