Using Contextual Inquiry to Inform Design of a Clinical Information Tool

Forsythe (1998) stated, "..[P]eople who design information resources require data on the information needs and work practices of their intended users. Whether automated or paper-based, no tool is likely to be effective and appropriate unless it has been designed with end users in mind [1]." A better understanding of the need for and use of medical knowledge should guide development of information systems [2]. By targeting the users’ environment and workflow processes, contextual inquiry (CI)----a variant of ethnography----informs development of a coherent information technology solution based on the reality of how users work and has been used to study physician information needs and medical information systems [3-5].