Agile User-Centered Design Framework to Support the Development of E-Health for Patient Education

The integration of Agile and User-centered design (UCD) methodologies combines the advantages of intensive user and stakeholder involvement and rapid delivery, and enables continuous improvement in software quality through iterative development and multiple evaluations. Although much progress has been made, the integration of Agile and UCD remains challenging, especially in e-health systems. Despite these challenges, e-health systems can obtain greater benefits from Agile-UCD methodologies. This study proposes Agile-UCD framework to support the development of e-health systems, specifically for patient education. The framework comprises of two sections: user research and analysis, and sprint iteration. Rigorous user research and the extensive involvement of users and stakeholders aim to deliver accurate requirements that ensure patient safety, improve efficiency, increase user satisfaction, and comply with health regulations and standards. Sprint iteration enables continuous improvement from the early version, leading to a higher-quality health system delivery. The proposed framework was tested using two health education applications for patients. The results from the usability evaluation and adoption assessment survey indicate the suitability and advantages of the proposed framework in managing requirements and developing systems that best match user needs.