Development of mental model in understanding users' thought processes for the evaluation and functional enhancement of clinical decision support systems

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) are developed to help experts in making decisions; however, these systems tend to go out of date quickly due to changing needs of the users or simply because these systems are not user centred. The users' mental model which reflects their view of the system is considered to be a major starting point for system evaluation and upgrade. The users' thought processes of how users' interact with the system is a major point in understanding the processes or the navigational paths users' undergo in achieving the goal of using the system. This is considered to be a major starting point for system evaluation and upgrade. This research examines the elicitation of users' mental models using Galatea Risk and Safety Tool (GRiST); a web based mental health decision support system. This is to gain a better understanding of how the system is used in the workplace and to identify usability issues resulting from any mismatch or gap between the conceptual model of the system and the mental model of the users which may infer decision making of the system. A novel framework that aims to mine users' perspectives of the system is proposed. The framework further explores the data gotten to help in the system evaluation and re-design. The methodology used involve the process of monitoring users' interactions, mining the data, con-structing mental models using repertory grid technique and concept mapping to understand users' understanding of the system and to analyse the findings in investigating and resolving usability and system's functionalities issues.