UserInsight Reports

UserInsight Reports provide a view of RSIGuard-collected statistics about how an individual uses a computer.

Statistics include:

• Time spent at computer and away from the computer, as well as time on the mouse and keyboard
• Usage of mouse and keyboard from several perspectives (e.g. strain exposure, key and mouseclick counts, etc.)
• Overall risk level
• Compliance with break suggestions, microbreaks and work restrictions
• Natural, and RSIGuard-suggested break taking patterns
• Patterns of usage of RSIGuard features (e.g. AutoClick, KeyControl, BreakTimer, etc.)
• Keyboard usage details (e.g. keystroke force, key usage frequency)

Each graph has context help that provides detailed insight into what the data means and how to use it. Where relevant, graphs also contain color-coded regions that allow you to identify where user data indicates high, moderate, or average risk. You may also read an overview of collected statistics in the DataLogger Analysis whitepaper [pdf].

UserInsight Reports are most useful for:

• Individuals who want to understand how they use the computer, especially with respect to understanding the connection between their work patterns and their physical well-being
• Ergonomists who want to understand an individual's risk so as to find the best behavioral solutions, workstation improvements, and changes to RSIGuard settings
• Medical professionals who want to identify sources of problems and develop data-based corrective measures such as work restrictions

The UserInsight application is included in the RSIGuard installation package (so users can view their own data) as well as in the RSIGuard Administrator Tools package.

View online user documentation for UserInsight

If you have installed UserInsight, you can click here to view sample report data.

What should you look for with UserInsight?

Typically, you are reviewing a user's data with UserInsight when they have reported discomfort, or you believe they are at a higher risk of injury (e.g., based on a factor identified by HSRView). Therefore, your examination of the data will be specific to the situation. However, here are some possible things you might look for:

1. Does the user consistently work a set number of hours, or do they have bursts of intense work sessions? Intense work sessions may lead to associated reports of discomfort.
2. Does the user's mouse/keyboard usage show patterns of increasing or decreasing that might indicate a corresponding increase or decrease in risk?
3. Are there patterns of high-risk usage that periodically arise? What do they correspond to (e.g., deadlines, end-of-month, etc.)?
4. Are there unusually high strain levels occasionally that might lead to days of discomfort? Can you determine what is responsible for the peaks (e.g., usage of certain applications, deadlines)?
5. Does the user use AutoClick consistently? If high mouse strain values correspond inversely with AutoClick usage, encourage the user to more consistently use AutoClick.
6. Does the time off the computer account for a small percentage of the total work day (end of day - start of day)? If so, it implies that the user's computer exposure is more concentrated and less broken up by significant non-computer-related activities -- a possible risk factor.
7. What does the user's break pattern look like? Do they skip many breaks? Do they take many BreakTimer-suggested and natural breaks? If the number of breaks taken is small, they should have correspondingly low strain levels. If not, they may need BreakTimer to suggest more breaks (i.e., you should adjust their break settings to give more frequent and/or longer breaks).
8. Does the user consistently pause for ForgetMeNots Microbreaks? If not, ask the user why. Do they feel they can't break away from computer tasks? Work with them to resolve this unhealthy pattern.
9. Does the user consistently postpone breaks? If so, determine why and work to change this pattern.
10. The Keypress Force Estimate is relative for each keyboard. So for this statistic, look to see if the graph has peaks, possibly indicating stressful periods. Do these periods correspond to longer work hours? Do they correspond to reports of discomfort?
11. Look at raw statistics like mouse movement, total number of clicks or keypresses to give users another sense of how much they use the computer.
12. Compare manual and KeyControl drag and drops. If users experience mouse-related discomfort, show them how to use KeyControl to create a hotkey to dramatically reduce the strain associated with drag and drop/selection operations.
13. Look at number of typing corrections as a possible indication of fatigue. Does the number of corrections more than proportionally increase after extended periods of intense work? If so, this may help an employee (or a manager) see the wisdom in taking more breaks or working fewer hours on the computer.
14. Does the user use certain keys exceptionally frequently? For example, if a user reports pinky discomfort and heavily uses either the Tab or Backspace key, consider using KeyControl to move these keys to a more comfortable location (e.g., swapping Tab and Q, or Backspace and ]).

The DataLogger Analysis whitepaper discusses each statistic in detail and offers other ideas of how you should interpret UserInsight information.

Report Storage Considerations

DataLogger Report data can be stored on an individual's computer, on a network, on a local hard drive with a daily copy to a network, or one of several other configurations. The decision of where to store the data is based on factors such as:

• Do you want managers to be able to access individual user's DataLogger data?
• Do users usually have a high speed connection to your network?
• Do users tend to always work on one computer or multiple computers?

This issue is discussed thoroughly in the RSIGuard Program Administrators Guide.

DataLogger data is collected from the day RSIGuard is installed onward. Because the data is very compact, it can be maintained for years, for thousands of employees, and still only use a modest amount of disk space. For example, one year's worth of data takes about 29KB. For 10,000 users, this translates to 290MB of data per year -- a relatively insignificant amount of space.

Learn about GroupInsight Reports