World Usability Day 2007 kicked off the year with a special session at the Usability Professionals' Association conference.

World Usability Day 2007 kicked off the year with a special session at the Usability Professionals' Association conference. The focus for World Usability Day (WUD) is healthcare. Healthcare usability affects every individual throughout his or her entire life. Every day, issues of medical illnesses and diseases, health insurance, nutrition, prescriptions and supplements, healthcare professionals and medical facilities affect how we experience our world and the quality of our life. Our daily "user experience" is critically affected by healthcare and the usability of all aspects of healthcare. The WUD 2007 kickoff event was attended by close to 100 people, many of whom have participated in the previous 3 World Usability Day events. Theo Mandel, Ph.D., the healthcare chairman for WUD 2007, presented a brief introduction followed by four case studies of successes in healthcare usability. View introduction slides Over 20 sponsors have signed up for World Usability Day 2007. Sponsors to date include: Apogee, Axure Software Solutions, Constant Contact, Dell, Different, Eventbrite, FatDUX, Google, Intuit, Microsoft User Research, Mitsui-Links, Ovo Studios, PayPal, SirValuse, Techsmith, Texas Tech University, VKI Studios, Usability.ch, and Weber Shandwick Worldwide. To kick off WUD 2007's focus on healthcare, four case studies were presented:

1. Shane Lovellette (TechSmith) presented how TechSmith's products, especially Morae, have helped healthcare institutions conduct remote usability evaluations. View slides
2. Janine Purcell (Cognitive Engineer, Veterans Health Administration) discussed patient safety in general and at the Veterans Administration. She presented a number of examples where improvements in hardware, software and hospital devices (bar codes, medication carts, etc.) have resulted in major leaps in safety for patients, clinicians and facilities. View slides
3. Ed Israelski (HF Program Manager, Abbott) spoke about human factors and usability for medical products and improvements in industry guidelines and standards. Ed showed examples of drug label improvements and new designs for medical equipment based on usability engineering processes. View slides
4. Theo Mandel (Usability Consultant, Interface Design and Development, LLC) presented a case study of a total redesign of a mobile, touch-screen electronic medical records and documentation system for EMS and fire/rescue professionals created by Zoll Data Systems (www.zolldata.com). Mandel rode in ambulances for four days to observe and gather feedback from professionals using the system in the field. The new design was iteratively prototyped and reviewed by users involved in the design and development process. The revised product, introduced in 2005, has been incredibly well received by customers and users. Sales are often closed because of the usability of the system. The product has also been a financial success story for the company. View slides

Finally, WUD 2007's founder and director, Elizabeth Rosenzweig, and Executive Director Caryn Saitz, discussed plans for events and activities in the next few months and world-wide concurrent, interactive events planned for WUD 2007 Day, November 8, 2007. Stay tuned for more news and highlights on World Usability Day 2007! Theo Mandel, Ph.D. Healthcare Chairman World Usability Day 2007 www.theomandel.com