Eye tracking to improve electronic communications with oncology practitioners

Abstract

6119 Background: Because so many oncology practitioners rely on the ASCO Web site for important information, it has to be effective and easy to use. To enhance the ASCO site, eye tracking technology has been effectively employed to supplement traditional usability testing data. Methods: Eye tracking was conducted with participants of the 2003 and 2004 ASCO Annual Meetings within the context of usability testing for ASCO-related sites and applications. The eye tracking data collection procedure focused on www.asco.org and consisted of a pre-briefing, calibration of participants, specific self-paced tasks, and debriefing. Equipment used included the Tobii 1750 remote eye tracking system, a 17“ monitor, laptop, keyboard and mouse, and data analysis software. Data were analyzed using heat maps, scan paths, and other novel techniques. Results: Eye tracking was administered with twenty (20) subjects. The stimuli were seven representative tasks that members completed on the site. Examples of specific eye tracking measures employed included fixation (defined as a 50–200 ms stable eye position) and scan paths (a series of fixations and their transitions across the stimulus). Heat maps (visual summaries of data from all participants) were produced for each task and indicated aggregate scan paths as well as areas of fixation and clicking. Based on analysis of these data, suggestions for improvement were offered. For example, menu structure analysis showed that while subjects attended to the proper item (e.g., “Virtual Meeting“) they failed to select it; therefore, recommendations were made to change the wording to better match the subjects’ knowledge. Conclusions: Eye tracking results are being used to improve content placement on the site, so that practitioners can find the right information more efficiently. Eye tracking offered precise insight into the users’ visual behavior; thereby determining which areas of the site needed improvement. In combination with task success rates and other data, eye tracking data provided a means of establishing that essential content would reach the professionals who needed it most. No significant financial relationships to disclose.