6DVF: A Framework for the Development and Evaluation of Mobile Data Visualisations

Mobile health (mHealth) applications are ubiquitous and offer several benefits such as easier access to one's health and wellness data through smartphones. However, their growth in popularity has also introduced several challenges for both end-users and developers. Users face challenges around the poor user experience (UX) introduced by the need to install several apps and limited customizability which is exacerbated by the limited control over app functionality. While features common across different apps may not directly affect individual developers, the fact that one app may provide a better implementation of features leads to wasted developer effort. A single platform that can satisfy all user needs does not currently exist, and given the diversity of the mHealth domain, a single app would be far too complex if it existed. In this paper, we present a new approach and a platform for mHealth apps - micro-mHealth apps, and we discuss them as an alternative to the current mHealth app development model, which we believe could improve the current state of mHealth app development and adoption. We are currently evaluating our prototype with several micro-mHealth apps built using common features in the mHealth apps available in commercial app stores.