Solving ‘wicked problems’ in the app co-design process
Andrew Skuse, Dianne Rodger, Michael Wilmore, Sal Humphreys, Julia Dalton, Vicki L. Clifton
Abstract
Until relatively recently, processes of health application (app) design have been understudied and this has resulted in a lack of critical reflection on app creation, including curtailing opportunities to share insights and possible pitfalls that could inform best practice in the field. In response, this article contributes to a growing body of literature that addresses this lacuna by exploring the experiences of the research and design team that developed a health app for pregnant women attending a large tertiary hospital in South Australia. Our analysis pays particular attention to the designer–researcher–user nexus exhibited in the ‘co-design’ process and in doing so, draws on Rittel’s notion of ‘wicked problems’. Ultimately, we show that app design is a problem-solving process that is reflective of a high degree of sociality, fluidity, accommodations and compromises.