Experience evaluation report for DSLs for clinical protocols: the case of GDL and PROforma DSLs from a medical perspective
Experience evaluation report for DSLs for clinical protocols: the case of GDL and PROforma DSLs from a medical perspective
This study evaluates the effectiveness of two Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) — the Guidelines Definition Language (GDL) and PROforma — in developing clinical protocols from the perspective of medical professionals. The objective was to assess the usability, learnability, and overall performance of these tools through hands-on tasks and paper exercises. Participants, including general practitioners, nephrologists, and public health specialists, provided feedback on the GDL 2 Editor and PROforma DSL based on their experience in creating clinical protocols. GDL 2 Editor was found to be more intuitive and user-friendly for simpler tasks, though it faced challenges in handling more complex logic and conditional rules. In contrast, PROforma, despite being designed for advanced decision-making, suffered from usability issues due to its technical complexity and the absence of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which limited its practical application. The results highlight the need for further refinement of both tools, with a focus on improving IDE functionality, enhancing user-centered design, and integrating the DSLs more seamlessly into clinical systems to support widespread adoption in healthcare settings. Future work will concentrate on improving usability, adding support tools, and ensuring practical applicability to meet the evolving needs of medical professionals.
83-99
Ukeje, Godwin
10480b53-b44f-44dd-ab64-c4440eaf2c7e
Meacham, Sofia
91da4229-7609-41e5-b816-e81f9a513466
Fraser, Simon D.S.
135884b6-8737-4e8a-a98c-5d803ac7a2dc
19 August 2025
Ukeje, Godwin
10480b53-b44f-44dd-ab64-c4440eaf2c7e
Meacham, Sofia
91da4229-7609-41e5-b816-e81f9a513466
Fraser, Simon D.S.
135884b6-8737-4e8a-a98c-5d803ac7a2dc
Ukeje, Godwin, Meacham, Sofia and Fraser, Simon D.S.
(2025)
Experience evaluation report for DSLs for clinical protocols: the case of GDL and PROforma DSLs from a medical perspective.
Arai, Kohei
(ed.)
In Intelligent Computing : Proceedings of the 2025 Computing Conference.
vol. 1,
Springer Cham.
.
(doi:10.1007/978-3-031-92602-0_5).
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of two Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) — the Guidelines Definition Language (GDL) and PROforma — in developing clinical protocols from the perspective of medical professionals. The objective was to assess the usability, learnability, and overall performance of these tools through hands-on tasks and paper exercises. Participants, including general practitioners, nephrologists, and public health specialists, provided feedback on the GDL 2 Editor and PROforma DSL based on their experience in creating clinical protocols. GDL 2 Editor was found to be more intuitive and user-friendly for simpler tasks, though it faced challenges in handling more complex logic and conditional rules. In contrast, PROforma, despite being designed for advanced decision-making, suffered from usability issues due to its technical complexity and the absence of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which limited its practical application. The results highlight the need for further refinement of both tools, with a focus on improving IDE functionality, enhancing user-centered design, and integrating the DSLs more seamlessly into clinical systems to support widespread adoption in healthcare settings. Future work will concentrate on improving usability, adding support tools, and ensuring practical applicability to meet the evolving needs of medical professionals.
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Published date: 19 August 2025
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 506268
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506268
ISSN: 2367-3370
PURE UUID: e142d7f9-6bf6-440c-bbdb-24433eb61219
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Date deposited: 31 Oct 2025 17:50
Last modified: 01 Nov 2025 02:41
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Contributors
Author:
Godwin Ukeje
Author:
Sofia Meacham
Editor:
Kohei Arai
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