2019 Volume 70 Issue 1 Pages 35-52
This paper proposes a task description method for diagnostic processes to counteract faults in dialysis machines. Diagnostic processes can be characterized as cognitive tasks where human inner processes as well as motions are of great importance. The task description illustrates task structures in both hierarchal and timeline forms based on observational data from video recordings, verbal protocols and eye movements. Additionally, we show basic ideas that allow us to obtain insights about problematic diagnostic processes and their possible countermeasures based on our task descriptions combined with an expert's mental model regarding faults in dialysis machines.
We carried out a series of observations where diagnostic processes performed by clinical engineers were observed in a hospital. We obtained the task descriptions of seven clinical engineers applying our task description method. By comparing each task description and an expert's mental model representing his recognition regarding dialysis machine malfunctions, we could obtain implications about some problematic diagnostic processes at the individual engineer level. Based on the results, the feasibility of using our method is discussed.
