Surge and usability notes
Thu, Dec 3, 2026 · Week 15 · Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science)
Today's goal: Students take notes on medical surge, mobile response facilities, and usability principles for public-health apps, then complete the PLTW online task.
This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.
Three usability principles (with health-app examples):
- Learnability: a first-time user can figure it out fast. Example: a clear 'Find a clinic near me' button on the home screen.
- Efficiency: frequent tasks take few steps. Example: check wait times in one tap, not five.
- Error tolerance: mistakes are easy to recover from. Example: a confirmation step before submitting symptoms, with an 'edit' option.
(A fourth, satisfaction, means the experience feels trustworthy and not stressful.)
User needs drive features (sketch in words):
- User need: 'I do not know if it is safe to go to the ER.' -> Feature: live ER wait-time and capacity indicator.
- User need: 'I do not speak English well.' -> Feature: language toggle.
- User need: 'I have no data plan.' -> Feature: low-bandwidth text-only mode.
Trust-building strategy:
- Show the source and time of every update ('Updated 10 min ago by County Health'). People act on information they believe is current and official, which is critical during a surge.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the surge and design note-taking task: three usability principles with examples, a user-needs-to-feature sketch, and one trust-building strategy.
- Date and label the entry.
- Record the procedure, observation, or design decision clearly.
- End with what the evidence means and the next step.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Complete the assigned PLTW online activity on surge response and design, then keep your notes for the design project.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about today's lesson. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.
Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.
It builds this reusable test skill: Identifying a core usability principle in a public-health app design.
- Name the concept or data pattern being tested.
- Cross out choices that violate that rule or the evidence.
- Justify the best remaining choice before checking the answer.