Usability engineering for patient apps

Empowering patients and their relatives in the hectic daily routine of the University Hospital Bonn – from referral to recovery

Digitalisation is revolutionising the healthcare sector and opening up new possibilities for modern and efficient patient care. In hospitals and clinics in particular, innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud platforms, advanced data management and interoperability are driving this change. However, one crucial success factor is often overlooked behind technological developments: the usability of the solutions that makes innovations tangible for users in the first place.

How can digital products not only set technical milestones but also meet the actual needs of patients? To answer this question, the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and adesso have developed the ‘My UKB App’ as part of the Hospital Future Act (KHZG). This app makes everyday life at the clinic easier for patients and their relatives by providing access to a wide range of digital services while also promoting self-management of medical matters. At the centre of the development is a user-centred process that focuses on both the usability and the added value of digital patient interfaces.

Background and objectives of the ‘My UKB’ app

The ‘My UKB’ app is much more than just a digital platform. It is a central component of the ‘Innovative Secure Medical Campus’ (ISMC) project at the University Hospital Bonn, which is using technologies such as AI, 5G and surgical robotics to shape the future of healthcare. The aim of the project is to optimise processes such as diagnostics, treatment and patient administration. The aim is not only to simplify the patient journey but also to relieve the burden on hospital staff. From personalised appointment management and barrier-free navigation on campus to smart payment of parking fees after the visit – the app combines numerous functions and services of the digital UKB ecosystem and its partners in one intuitive mobile application.

From questions to functional solutions

In the healthcare sector, the health, satisfaction, safety and well-being of users are the main focus. If a product is not developed with the user in mind, even great ideas often remain difficult to use and thus difficult for users to grasp. That is why good usability of the app is essential: intuitive operation that meets the actual needs of patients makes an important contribution to providing support in the challenging everyday life of a clinic.

The user-centred approach makes it possible to develop intuitive solutions that can be used effectively even in complex environments by involving all relevant stakeholders at an early stage and by practically analysing user requirements. In practice, this means creating effective solutions for every situation. For example, the requirements analysis for ‘My UKB’ revealed, among other things, that implementing a universal solution for all specialist clinics at the university hospital would be challenging due to the specific requirements and technical conditions. By analysing these aspects in good time, we were able to create a solution in the conception and development process that is efficient for patients of all specialist clinics – and thus ensures usability in different contexts of use.

The applied process of user requirements analysis, on which the intuitive user experience of the application is based, consists of five essential research steps:

1. Determining the clinical context

The first step revolves around the question of which aspects, problems and challenges of everyday clinical life should be solved. This step lays the foundation for initial assumptions, which are then validated in the context of contextual investigations.

2. Analysis of the context of use

In the second step, the users' usage situation is examined in detail by means of qualitative interviews, workshops and shadowing studies with patients and clinical staff. The aim is to gain a deep understanding of the needs and problems in everyday clinical practice and to validate the stakeholder assumptions.

3. Validation of the patient journeys

The collected insights are visualised in the form of patient journeys to better understand the everyday interactions of patients and healthcare professionals with the clinic. These journeys help to take a holistic view of the tasks and questions of the users.

4. Formulating the user requirements

The observations are used to derive user-centred requirements for the app. These requirements are based on an analysis of the needs, concerns and problems of the target group, which in turn defines specific demands on the system and requirements that help users in their everyday lives.

5. Defining core and sub-tasks

In the final step, the core and sub-tasks of the app are defined to ensure that the key usage scenarios of the app are fully captured. The results serve as a basis for the design and development process.

The user-centred development of the ‘My UKB’ app impressively demonstrates how digital innovations in healthcare can be successfully designed by putting the actual needs of patients and hospital staff at the centre. By involving all relevant stakeholders at an early stage and conducting a targeted analysis of user contexts, a solution was created that is not only intuitive to use but also takes into account the complexity of everyday life in a clinic. This approach ensures that digital products not only offer technical advances but also create real added value for all parties involved – a decisive step towards future-oriented and patient-centred healthcare.