=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3107/paper4
|storemode=property
|title=An ideal physical activity app for adults - what should it be like? Requirements of adult users
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3107/paper4.pdf
|volume=Vol-3107
|authors=Kerli Mooses
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/apsec/Mooses21
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==An ideal physical activity app for adults - what should it be like? Requirements of adult users==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3107/paper4.pdf
An ideal physical activity app for adults – what
should it be like? Requirements of adult users
Kerli Mooses
Institute of Computer Sciences
University of Tartu
Tartu, Estonia
Kerli.Mooses@ut.ee
Abstract—Despite the numerous health benefits provided by process. Early identification of the needs, preferences and
physical activity, people struggle to meet healthy activity levels. problems of end users helps to address them during early
There are numerous apps aiming to support the physical activity development phase and thereby ensure the acceptance and
of adults. However, it is unclear whether and at what extent is usability of the end product. The findings about the features
the end user been involved in the development process. In
that adults would like to have in a physical activity app are
addition, there is a lack of research which examines which
functional, quality and emotional goals are preferred and sparse. According to a qualitative study [12] young adults
expected by the user of physical activity app. To address this prefer physical activity apps that coach and motivate them,
issue, do-be-feel workshops were carried out with 38 adults and provide tailored feedback, enable to set personal goals and
the results were combined into goal model. These results offer a allow competition with friends. User-friendliness and
good overview of the expectations of end user which can be used flexibility has also been reported [8]. Most published data
in further development. focus on describing existing apps, trying to identify most
effective and/or most frequently used features [9], [11], [13]–
Keywords—requirements elicitation, physical activity, goal [15]. For example, it has been found that giving feedback,
modelling, adults
setting goals, receiving rewards, social sharing and
I. INTRODUCTION competition can positively influence the physical activity of
adults [13]. These studies mostly focus on functional
The positive impact of physical activity on mental, social
requirements, but in addition to functional requirements it is
and physical health are widely recognized [1], [2]. Countries
important to consider the quality and emotional requirements
make efforts to support and promote healthy physical activity
which also influence the acceptance and usability of end
levels among their citizens. It has been shown that if all
product [16]. Therefore, knowledge of quality and emotional
inactive people became active, more than 5 million deaths per
requirements needed by the end user can increase the
year could be avoided [2]. Recent research indicates that
effectiveness and attractiveness of the app.
every move counts as health benefits occur even when
The aim of current study is to find out the needs and
physical activity is below the international recommended expectations of adults for an app that would support their
levels [1], [3]. At the same time, higher physical activity physical activity. In addition, we combine the elicited
levels and reduced sedentary time substantially reduces the requirements into hierarchical goal model to give a good
risk for premature mortality [4]. Despite the facts and visual overview of gathered requirements.
research reassuring the positive influence of physical activity
on health, a lot of people struggle to achieve healthy II. METHODS
physically active levels as third of adult population do not To identify the functional, quality and emotional goals of
meet the physical activity recommendations by World Health an app that would support the physical activity of adults, nine
Organisation [5]. According to the literature reviews, the online workshops with a total of 38 adults (22 female, 16
most common barriers for physical activity reported by adults male, aged 35-45) were conducted. The participants were
are lack of time, motivation and self-discipline [6], [7]. This recruited through the requirements elicitation course of the
indicates that a tool supporting the motivation and self- university. The workshops were carried out online due to the
discipline could have beneficial effects on physical activity COVID-19 situation and to reduce the personal contact. The
levels of adults. do-be-feel method was used in the workshop. At first the
The rapid advantages in information and communication participants were given a following description: “It is advised
technologies (ICTs) and their extensive use worldwide make by World Health Organisation that adults should accumulate
ICTs valuable tools in health promotion, including 10 000 steps per day or 150 minutes of moderate activity per
supporting physical activity. There are numerous apps week in order to stay healthy. If there would be an app that
available in app stores for physical activity. However, it has helps you to fill these activity goals, what would it be like?”
been shown, that their effect on physical activity behaviour is The participants were asked to think on four aspects: 1) what
modest [8]–[10]. It could be partly explained by the fact that should such app do? (functional goals), 2) what should such
the involvement of end user during the development process app be like? (quality goals), 3) how should such app make
seems to be modest or even non-existing as no physical you feel? (emotional goals). In addition, the participants were
activity app has reported users involvement during the asked to think which roles are associated with the app. The
development process [11]. In addition, to the best of our answers were all gathered in one table where participant
knowledge there is no study describing the involvement of could add additional ideas. The results from nine workshops
the end user during the requirements elicitation phase of were divided into subthemes and combined into one summary
physical activity app. At the same time end user is a crucial table presented in Results section. The frequency of goals
stakeholder who should be involved in the development
Copyright © 2022 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
mentioned by different workshop groups was also added to rate, time, velocity, distance and activity minutes. In addition
the table to identify the most popular needs. to the possibility that the app itself tracked the activity, it was
In order to give a good visual and systematic overview of important that activity data could be imported from watches
gathered requirements agent-oriented goal model [17]–[21] and activity trackers. As for the reports, different input
was created. In this hierarchical goal tree, the functional goals variables, such as activity minutes, steps, activity types, and
are presented in tilted rectangles. Roles, quality and emotional time periods, such as day, week, month, was mentioned. The
goals are attached to the functional goal that they are goal setting was considered an important feature. All groups
associated with. The roles are presented as stick man, quality wanted to set personal goals and some groups preferred the
goals with clouds and emotional goals with heart symbols. app to make suggestions for next goals based on previous
Goal modelling was used as it presents early functional, goals and activity. Together with goal setting, the participants
quality and emotional requirements in a holistic and coherent wanted to get notification and praise for meeting the goal.
way, which can be further developed into user stories [22].
Reminders, motivating tips and messages were considered as
User stories in turn are often used in agile software
engineering [23], [24]. In addition, it has been shown that goal encouraging and motivating which help them to meet goals
models are also helpful when there is a need to involve or and overcome barriers. The participants also considered
communicate with nontechnical stakeholders or experts [25]. notifications that would remind activity in case of prolonged
passive periods useful. Another popular features were
III. RESULTS possibility to participate in challenges and share and compare
Measuring activity and making reports were two your progress with others within app or in social media.
functional goals that were mentioned by all groups (Table 1). Participants were interested the app to suggest nearby tracks
A variety of indicators for measuring physical activity by the for different activities, such as hiking, orienteering, running
app was mentioned – for example, the number of steps, heart etc.
TABLE I. FUNCTIONAL, QUALITY AND EMOTIONAL REQUIREMENTS IDENTIFIED WITH DO-BE-FEEL WORKSHOPS
To-do To-be To-feel Roles
Measure activity Safe (7) Healthy (9) User (9)
Track activity (9) Intuitive (6) Satisfied (7) Friend (9)
Use GPS (6) Modern (6) Motivated (6) Sponsor (5)
Import data from other apps/ watches/ activity trackers (5) Simple (5) Happy (6) Doctor (3)
Insert activity manually User friendly (5) Inspired (4) Scientist, Health expert (2)
Make adjustments to activity data Precise, accurate (5) Self-confident (4) Athlete (2)
Goals Reliable (5) Aware (4) Sport psychologist
Set personal goals (5) Compatible (4) Proud (3) Sport club
Suggests new goals based on previous activity (3) Motivating (3) Victorious (3) Coach
Feedback Free (3) Proud (3)
Make reports (9) Reasonably priced (3) Informed (2)
Get points for activity / virtual medals / awards (5) Energy-saving (3) Addicted (2)
Visualise the distance from goal (4) Inspiring (2) Supported (2)
Present distance virtually (e.g. home to Rome/ move around a globe) Playful (2) Recognised (2)
Get personal advice from coach Adaptive (2) Cared for (2)
Reminders and notifications Comfortable (2) Positive (2)
Get notification when filling a goal (7) Fast (2) In control
Get notifications when passive (6) Spectacular Hopeful
Get reminders, motivating messages and tips (4) Innovative Success
Turn off notifications and reminders Unnoticed Amused
Challenges Practical Special
Participate in challenges (5) Interesting Belong to
Win awards from sponsors (2) Realistic Active
Create challenges (2) Adds-free Excited
Invite friends to join a challenge Energetic
Create leader boards based on activity type Guided
Socialize
Share and compare results with others (5)
Invite friend(s) to training session (3)
Invite friend to join the app (2)
Find activity
Save and rate track (with GPS) (4)
Show/suggest tracks nearby (4)
Add training sessions to calendar (2)
Other
Insert personal data (5)
Call help
Keep a creature alive with your activity
Read motivating info about the benefits of physical activity
() – number of groups who mentioned this requirement. Presented if N > 1.
Fig. 1. Goal model for app supporting the physical activity levels of adults based on most frequently mentioned requirements
Safety, simplicity, user-friendliness, accurate rewards and enabling social comparison [9], [13], [14].
measurements and reliability were most frequently Although rewards have a potential to support engagement in
mentioned quality goals. As for emotional goal, the physical activity, they have to be aimed at intrinsic
participants wanted to feel healthy, satisfied, motivated and motivation, which supports long term changes [28]. Caution
happy when using the app. should be taken when incorporating social comparison
The gathered requirements were transformed into goal feature to the app as the scientific findings are contradictory
models which give a good visual of the most popular needs – some people find motivating comparing with more active
of adults who want to be physically active with the help of an people, whereas the others demotivating [12].
app (Fig. 1). Our participants also pointed out the need to invite a
friend to training session and share your results with friends
IV. DISCUSSION or in social media. Social support and enjoyment have been
There is a limited evidence in scientific literature about reported as one of the main motives for physical activity [6]
the needs and expectations of adults who use physical activity and being able to train with a friend will certainly support
app. In current study we addressed this knowledge gap and these motives. Being active with friends helps to fulfil
identified functional, quality and emotional requirements for abundance of emotional goals which emerged from our
such app with the help of do-be-feel workshops. workshops. For example, supported, cared for and recognised
Most common behaviour change techniques such as are only few of them.
measuring activity, setting goals and getting feedback [11], Possibility to create challenges and participate in them
[14], [15] were mentioned by most of our workshop groups. was favoured by half of our workshop groups. Similarly,
Being aware of one’s activity levels can be considered a participating in challenges has been previously reported by
prerequisite for evaluating the sufficiency of physical young adults [12]. However, not all people are competitive
activity. In addition, it helps to increase the awareness of and interested in challenges [13], thus this feature should be
actual activity levels and review the changes over time [26]. kept optional.
According to studies, these three features have a potential to Interestingly a possibility to find activity has not been
increase the effectiveness of the app [27]. For our participants mentioned in previous studies with adults or in existing apps,
it was equally important to use the app for performing activity whereas this feature was reported by almost half of the
measurements as well as importing the data from watch or workshop groups. Previously a shortage of facilities has been
activity tracker. As different sporting disciplines can make reported as one of the barriers for physical activity [6]. In
restrictions on the measurement device, it would be useful to some cases, there could be a lack of information about
ensure compatibility and connectivity with a variety of different opportunities for in- and outdoor physical activity.
devices. As for feedback, only one group mentioned the In such cases, including a possibility to search or get
possibility to consult a coach although personalised feedback suggestions about nearby tracks and facilities can help to
has been identified one factor that encourages PA change [9]. overcome this barrier. This feature would also be beneficial
Our participants preferred to get feedback and view progress in a case of a holiday or a trip to a new and foreign
over time with graphical and numeric reports. surrounding.
Another quite popular behaviour change techniques that Safety was the most highly valued quality goal by our
are used in existing physical activity apps and which were participants. Participants wanted to share their personal data
mentioned several times by our participants, were providing as it enhances user experience and improves personalisation.
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