Table of Contents
Scenario-based Claims Analysis
Scenario-based Claims Analysis
Scenarios and associated claims analyses:
Basic Use |
Modifying Records
Change of Address | Add Phone Numbers | Modify Routing | Design Alternatives
A University employee has moved to a new house in Blacksburg and has submitted a form to the Human Resources Department indicating a change of address.
The Banner system user in Human Resources navigates through the Banner system menus using either mouse clicks on menu items or by selecting the letter associated with the menu option. The user stops at the page displaying general employee data. The user then searches for the user by selecting query-find from the menu at the top of the screen, entering the last name of the employee and using the "%" wild card character for the first name. The user selects the correct employee from the list returned from the search. This fills in the general information on the PWAEBIO page. Then, the user must click with the mouse in a field in the "Address Information" section of the form to force the system to fill in the data. The mailing address is the first address displayed. The user modifies the address and clicks on the save button to commit the changes.
Claims Analysis
Allowing navigation through the menus with both mouse actions and "shortcut keys" …
- …makes the system easier for novice users to learn
- …provides a faster means of navigation for expert users
- …but may cause some confusion if all of the commands are not implemented both as keystrokes and mouse actions
- …but may take intermediate and intermittent users longer to use in that they must decide which method to use as they navigate the system
A "%" wild card character…
- …enables searching for unknown or partially known information.
- …helps users transfer their knowledge of other search programs that user wild card characters, making the system easier to learn
- …but "%" may make the system more difficult to learn in that "*" is the standard wild card character
Forcing the user to click in the "Address Information" area to load the address information…
- …may minimize accesses to the database when that information is not needed, improving system performance
- …provides the user with a more immediate response to their query
- …but may cause confusion in that the user may think that there is no address information for that employees record
- …but may cause confusion in that the user may search for a button or menu item to force the system to load the data
An employee has been given a fax machine and a cellular phone by the university due to a change in job requirements. That employee passes the new fax and cellular number information to human resources for updating his/her record.
The Banner system user again navigates through the Banner system menus using either mouse clicks or keyboard operations. The user again stops at the employee general information page. Again, the user searches for the specific employee either by number or name depending on the information provided by the employee. The user then clicks in a field in the "Address Information" section of the form to load the data. The user then adds the fax number and must save the information before he/she is able to enter the cellular phone number. There is no prompting for this save action, it is learned during the training period. The user then saves the last change and returns to the main Banner system menu.
Claims Analysis
Requiring the user to save a newly added number before adding another number…
- …may help prevent lost data
- …may help the user check his/her data for correctness before entering another number
- …may cause confusion for the user in that the system does not prompt the user to save and this course of action must be determined by trial and error
A Banner system user has entered and saved a transaction but does not know to whom the transaction should be routed. So, the user clicks the "save" button on the form. Clicking on the save button, enables the routing button, indicating that the transaction can now be routed for approval. The user returns to the Banner system main menu and makes a personal note to check who needs to be on the routing list and to submit the saved transaction.
At a later date, the user returns to the Banner system and retrieves the transaction using the query feature available from the menu. The user then clicks on the routing button and enters the routing information. The user clicks the "Save" button and then the "Exit" button. However, the "Exit" button takes the user several levels back out of the form hierarchy. The user then navigates back to a form with the enabled "Submit" button and submits the transaction for approval by pressing that button.
Claims Analysis
Requiring users to remember transactions that have been saved but not been submitted…
- …allows the user to find information necessary to submit the transaction and submit it at a later, more convenient time
- …but may cause transactions to be "forgotten" in that the user is not reminded of the transaction
- …but may be difficult for novice users to learn in that the system only prompts the user to submit with an enabled "Submit" button
An "Exit" button that takes the user several levels out of the form hierarchy…
- …reduces user time by providing them with a "shortcut" back to the menu system
- …but may cause confusion in that the user may expect the "Exit" button to only take them one level back in the form hierarchy
- …but may cause information to be lost if the user selects the "Exit" button, is taken back to the main menu, and assumes that the system saved the information
- The system should be totally navigable via keyboard or mouse. Forcing the user to go back and forth will "cost" the user time.
- The wild card character should be changed to a "*" to be consistent with other applications and reduce learning time for users familiar with other systems.
- The entire form should either be filled in when it is displayed or a button should be added to forms that prompts the user to load the rest of the data. This will eliminate confusion associated with "half empty" forms.
- The system should prompt the user to save any information that is required to be saved before allowing the user to continue. Currently users must discover this through trial and error or remember from training. New users have no way of knowing, from the user interface, that saving the information is required to move on.
- The system should track transactions that are not submitted and remind users of these transactions to avoid having them lost in the system where users think that they are either already submitted or they have forgotten them.
- The "Exit" button should either be changed to only take the user back one level in the form hierarchy, or a "Previous Form" button should be added to allow the user an intuitive method for returning to the previous form.