Functional size measurement of postnatal care apps: Morocco case study

Area of Science:

• Software Engineering
• Health Informatics
• Mobile Health (mHealth)

Background:

• Mobile applications for postnatal care are increasingly prevalent.
• Evaluating the functional coverage and user engagement of these apps is crucial for improving healthcare delivery.
• Existing evaluation methods may not fully capture the evolving features of mHealth applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically evaluate the functional coverage of 18 mobile applications for postnatal care.
• To compare the COSMIC _ISO 19,761 functional size with previous quality assessment scores.
• To analyze the relationship between functional size, user ratings, and download numbers, including the Mamma&Baby app.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the COSMIC _ISO 19,761 standard for functional size measurement.
• Compared COSMIC functional size with scores from a quality assessment questionnaire.
• Analyzed user ratings and download data from the Play Store for 18 postnatal care apps.

Main Results:

• A small shift in ranking was observed for most apps between the two evaluation methods.
• Significant ranking shifts occurred for some apps due to newly added features not captured previously.
• The COSMIC method proved effective in accounting for all functions and features in postnatal care apps.

Conclusions:

• COSMIC is an effective method for evaluating corrective or evolutionary updates in mobile health applications.
• The Mamma&Baby app requires targeted strategies to increase downloads, enhance visibility, and attract more users.
• Functional size measurement provides insights into app performance and user reception.