04 — User research
Finding the gaps before patients do
Reconstructed example · real method
User researchUsability testingMedical devicesMedical devices come with instructions for use. My job was to find out if real people could follow them safely, before the device reached patients.
The same six steps every time, so studies are consistent and nothing gets skipped.
01
Expert review
Read the instructions with a health-literacy eye. Flag where people will slip, before anyone is tested.
02
Plan the study
Write the protocol from scratch: the tasks, and questions that test understanding, not memory.
03
Recruit
Match the real users: first-timers, older adults, carers, people who struggle with health information.
04
Run the sessions
Watch each task: done right, done with difficulty, or got wrong. Doing counts more than saying.
05
Analyse
Find where people struggled to find, understand or act on what mattered, and why.
06
Report and close
Are the instructions good enough? If not: where, why, and exactly what to change.
Predict the gaps, then test them
Switch between the expert review and what happened when ten people used the pen.
Instructions for use · auto-injector pen (made up)
1Pull off the grey cap.
No concern.
2Check the window is clear.
Flag'Clear' could mean see-through or empty. Likely to be misread.
3Press the pen firmly against your thigh.
No concern.
4Hold for 10 seconds until the window turns yellow.
FlagThe pen clicks at the start, not the end. People may stop at the click.
5Put the used pen in a sharps bin.
No concern.
Ask questions that reveal the gap
Writing the study questions
Tests understanding
“Show me how you'd know the dose is finished.”
Tests understanding
“What would you do if the window didn't turn yellow?”
Tests understanding
“Where would you keep this at home?”
Yes/no questions measure politeness. Asking people to show you measures understanding.
From observations to one clear change
P03 · observed
Lifted the pen at the click. Dose not finished.
P07 · observed
“I’d wait for the click.” Said it with total confidence.
P09 · observed
Held for 10 seconds, but never looked at the window.
Recommendation
Make the yellow window the signal, not the click. Put “hold until yellow” in the step itself, with a picture.
All three observations point to the same gap: how people know the dose is done.
What I'm always looking for
- The gapBetween what's written and what people do
- The gapBetween who it's written for and who actually uses it
- The gapBetween “I understand” and doing it right