In late August, Wavefront and OpenRoad Communications presented a full-day session on how to develop an effective mobile strategy, including design and evaluation. This seminar addressed some of the challenges in designing and evaluating a user experience for target audiences on a mobile platform.
Topics of this seminar included:
- Defining your mobile strategy and requirements
- Native vs mobile app: which one to use?
- User Interface (UI) design principles and challenges for mobile
- Mobile device considerations: iPad vs iPhone; iOS vs Android
- Evaluating mobile design with heuristic and usability testing
The environmental and physical context of the users dictate the way they interact with the mobile device. When dealing with the range of digital devices such as desktop, laptop, mobile phone, and television, a small-screen mobile device plays the role of offering quick access to summarized information, or provides the means to perform certain tasks while on the road.
Mobile applications are a growing segment in eHealth. Our own BC Guidelines app serves just-in-time treatment guidelines for thousands of clinicians in our province, but this is just one potential use of mobile in health care. In the upcoming year at the eHealth Strategy Office, we’ll be working on some innovative projects that involve mobile applications. By defining a mobile strategy, we can offer a variety of user experiences specific to the needs of medical professionals and patients on-the-go. Stay tuned.