Involving End Users in the Development and Usability Testing of a Smartphone App Designed for Individuals With...

Area of Science:

• Mobile Health (mHealth)
• Health Behavior Change
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Smartphone apps can supplement health programs like Small Steps for Big Changes for diabetes prevention.
• End-user involvement in app design is key for technology adoption and satisfaction.
• Usability testing provides critical insights for improving mobile health applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usability of a newly developed diabetes prevention smartphone app.
• To gather user feedback for iterative improvement of the app's design and functionality.

Main Methods:

• A focus group with 7 participants was conducted.
• Usability testing involved a cognitive walkthrough of 8 tasks and the System Usability Scale survey.
• Participants used the app for 3 weeks and completed the User-Mobile Application Rating Scale.

Main Results:

• 26 usability problems were identified, including issues with progress feedback, information order, and design intuitiveness.
• The System Usability Scale yielded a marginal acceptability score (66.8%), indicating a need for design improvements.
• The User-Mobile Application Rating Scale indicated average acceptability (3.59).

Conclusions:

• The app requires improvements, from minor aesthetic adjustments to major functional changes.
• Incorporating end-user feedback ensures the app meets client preferences, increasing usage likelihood.
• The app can support behavior change techniques and improve health outcomes by enabling self-monitoring of exercise, diet, and goals.