The Cost of Improved Overview: An analysis of the Use of Electronic Whiteboards in Emergency Departments

TY - GEN

T1 - The Cost of Improved Overview: An analysis of the Use of Electronic Whiteboards in Emergency Departments

AU - Hertzum, Morten

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - Forming and maintaining an overview of an information space is key to competent action in many situations and often supported by overview displays. We investigate the cost of the improved overview associated with the introduction of electronic whiteboards in four emergency departments (EDs). In such a dynamic environment the work that goes into keeping the whiteboard current is, we contend, an indicator of the cost of maintaining an overview. On the basis of log data for the period 2012–2014 we find that the ED clinicians make an average of 1.91 whiteboard changes per minute to keep the whiteboard current. Performing these changes takes an estimated 6647, h a year in each ED. While the whiteboard is well-like and has improved the clinicians’ overview, our cost-of-overview estimation shows that it consumes substantial staff resources. This reflects the value the clinicians assign to having an overview but also reveals the amount of resources removed from other activities to maintain this overview.

AB - Forming and maintaining an overview of an information space is key to competent action in many situations and often supported by overview displays. We investigate the cost of the improved overview associated with the introduction of electronic whiteboards in four emergency departments (EDs). In such a dynamic environment the work that goes into keeping the whiteboard current is, we contend, an indicator of the cost of maintaining an overview. On the basis of log data for the period 2012–2014 we find that the ED clinicians make an average of 1.91 whiteboard changes per minute to keep the whiteboard current. Performing these changes takes an estimated 6647, h a year in each ED. While the whiteboard is well-like and has improved the clinicians’ overview, our cost-of-overview estimation shows that it consumes substantial staff resources. This reflects the value the clinicians assign to having an overview but also reveals the amount of resources removed from other activities to maintain this overview.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - cost of use

KW - overview formation

KW - electronic whiteboard

KW - healthcare

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-319-67684-5_25

DO - 10.1007/978-3-319-67684-5_25

M3 - Article in proceedings

SN - 978-3-319-67683-8

VL - LNCS 10514

SP - 402

EP - 410

BT - Proceedings of the INTERACT2017 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

PB - Springer

CY - Cham

ER -