App Interface Research Articles

The New Smartphone Application for Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM) with Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model Study

Previous studies demonstrated the accuracy of the CONTOUR®NEXT ONE BGM system (BGMS), which includes a wireless-enabled BG meter that links to the CONTOUR®Diabetes app installed on a mobile device. The CONTOUR®Diabetes app Version 2 Prototype detects repeated behavioral patterns in testing results and reports them back to the user. By decision of the user, recommendations are triggered to help with elimination of conditions related to the diagnosed pattern. The goal of the interactive app interface implementation is to achieve behavioral change in people with diabetes for better adherence to treatment and sustained glycemic control. The app employs messaging via the IMB model. A 6-week study with 46 insulin-using people with diabetes was performed to assess operational parameters and user reactions to the system. Analyses were performed on glycemic variables, such as fructosamine levels and HbA1c, and on subject questionnaires. Fructosamine levels decreased significantly from the beginning to the end of the study (P = 0.0076). All but 1 subject had IMB patterns detected, ranging from messages relating to “running low” to “pre-dinner high.” “Critical High” was the most frequently detected pattern. A multivariate cluster analysis, based on questionnaire responses only, revealed that subjects could be classified into one of two clusters based on their responses to the app. The only demographic or diabetes history variable significantly related to cluster membership was diabetes type. One cluster included only subjects with type 1 diabetes; the other cluster was a mix of both diabetes types. To further evaluate the benefits and efficacy of IMB as it relates to glycemic control, a larger study following subjects over a longer time period is required. Disclosure S. Pardo: Employee; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care. S. Zhuplatov: Employee; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care. J. Wallace: Employee; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care. T.S. Bailey: Research Support; Self; Abbott. Consultant; Self; Abbott. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Abbott. Research Support; Self; Ambra BioScience, Ascensia Diabetes Care, Becton, Dickinson and Company. Consultant; Self; Becton, Dickinson and Company. Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Calibra Medical. Consultant; Self; Calibra Medical. Research Support; Self; Companion Medical, Dexcom, Inc., Glooko, Inc., GlySens Incorporated, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Consultant; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Research Support; Self; Sanofi. Consultant; Self; Sanofi. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Senseonics. Consultant; Self; Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Versartis, Inc., Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., MannKind Corporation.

Use of the New Smartphone Application for Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM) with Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model Has an Impact on Diabetes Control Parameters

The accuracy of the CONTOUR®NEXT ONE BGM system (BGMS), which includes a wireless-enabled BG meter that links to the CONTOUR®Diabetes app installed on a mobile device, has been shown in previous studies. The CONTOUR®Diabetes app Version 2 Prototype detects repeated behavioral patterns in testing results and reports them back to the user. The user can choose to receive recommendations to help eliminate conditions related to the diagnosed pattern. The goal of the interactive app interface implementation is to achieve behavioral change in people with diabetes for better adherence to treatment and sustained glycemic control. The app employs messaging via the IMB model. A 6-week study with 46 insulin-using people with diabetes was performed to assess operational parameters and user reactions to the system. Further to per-protocol analyses, some post-hoc analyses were performed. In addition to a significant decrease in fructosamine level from the beginning to the end of the study (per-protocol analysis), there was a significant decrease in the number of above-target (“high”) blood glucose measurements per week per subject (P <0.0001). This result may be related to a decrease in extreme glycemic fluctuations. The average number of blood glucose tests performed per week increased significantly over the course of the study (P <0.0001), indicating the potential effects of using the system on encouraging patient adherence to treatment and better control of blood glucose levels. While not statistically significant, the average blood glucose values for fasting, before meal, and after meal consistently decreased. A larger study following subjects over a longer time period is required to evaluate the benefits and efficacy of IMB as it relates to glycemic control. Disclosure S. Pardo: Employee; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care. S. Zhuplatov: Employee; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care. J. Wallace: Employee; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care. T.S. Bailey: Research Support; Self; Abbott. Consultant; Self; Abbott. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Abbott. Research Support; Self; Ambra BioScience, Ascensia Diabetes Care, Becton, Dickinson and Company. Consultant; Self; Becton, Dickinson and Company. Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Calibra Medical. Consultant; Self; Calibra Medical. Research Support; Self; Companion Medical, Dexcom, Inc., Glooko, Inc., GlySens Incorporated, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Consultant; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Research Support; Self; Sanofi. Consultant; Self; Sanofi. Speaker's Bureau; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Senseonics. Consultant; Self; Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Versartis, Inc., Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., MannKind Corporation.

Development and implementation of a mobile device-based pediatric electronic decision support tool as part of a national practice standardization project.

ObjectiveImplementing evidence-based practices requires a multi-faceted approach. Electronic clinical decision support (ECDS) tools may encourage evidence-based practice adoption. However, data regarding the role of mobile ECDS tools in pediatrics is scant. Our objective is to describe the development, distribution, and usage patterns of a smartphone-based ECDS tool within a national practice standardization project.Materials and MethodsWe developed a smartphone-based ECDS tool for use in the American Academy of Pediatrics, Value in Inpatient Pediatrics Network project entitled “Reducing Excessive Variation in the Infant Sepsis Evaluation (REVISE).” The mobile application (app), PedsGuide, was developed using evidence-based recommendations created by an interdisciplinary panel. App workflow and content were aligned with clinical benchmarks; app interface was adjusted after usability heuristic review. Usage patterns were measured using Google Analytics.ResultsOverall, 3805 users across the United States downloaded PedsGuide from December 1, 2016, to July 31, 2017, leading to 14 256 use sessions (average 3.75 sessions per user). Users engaged in 60 442 screen views, including 37 424 (61.8%) screen views that displayed content related to the REVISE clinical practice benchmarks, including hospital admission appropriateness (26.8%), length of hospitalization (14.6%), and diagnostic testing recommendations (17.0%). Median user touch depth was 5 [IQR 5].DiscussionWe observed rapid dissemination and in-depth engagement with PedsGuide, demonstrating feasibility for using smartphone-based ECDS tools within national practice improvement projects.ConclusionsECDS tools may prove valuable in future national practice standardization initiatives. Work should next focus on developing robust analytics to determine ECDS tools’ impact on medical decision making, clinical practice, and health outcomes.

The Interactive Child Distress Screener: Development and Preliminary Feasibility Testing.

BackgroundEarly identification of child emotional and behavioral concerns is essential for the prevention of mental health problems; however, few suitable child-reported screening measures are available. Digital tools offer an exciting opportunity for obtaining clinical information from the child’s perspective.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the initial development and pilot testing of the Interactive Child Distress Screener (ICDS). The ICDS is a Web-based screening instrument for the early identification of emotional and behavioral problems in children aged between 5 and 12 years.MethodsThis paper utilized a mixed-methods approach to (1) develop and refine item content using an expert review process (study 1) and (2) develop and refine prototype animations and an app interface using codesign with child users (study 2). Study 1 involved an iterative process that comprised the following four steps: (1) the initial development of target constructs, (2) preliminary content validation (face validity, item importance, and suitability for animation) from an expert panel of researchers and psychologists (N=9), (3) item refinement, and (4) a follow-up validation with the same expert panel. Study 2 also comprised four steps, which are as follows: (1) the development of prototype animations, (2) the development of the app interface and a response format, (3) child interviews to determine feasibility and obtain feedback, and (4) refinement of animations and interface. Cognitive interviews were conducted with 18 children aged between 4 and 12 years who tested 3 prototype animated items. Children were asked to describe the target behavior, how well the animations captured the intended behavior, and provide suggestions for improvement. Their ability to understand the wording of instructions was also assessed, as well as the general acceptability of character and sound design.ResultsIn study 1, a revised list of 15 constructs was generated from the first and second round of expert feedback. These were rated highly in terms of importance (mean 6.32, SD 0.42) and perceived compatibility of items (mean 6.41, SD 0.45) on a 7-point scale. In study 2, overall feedback regarding the character design and sounds was positive. Children’s ability to understand intended behaviors varied according to target items, and feedback highlighted key objectives for improvements such as adding contextual cues or improving character detail. These design changes were incorporated through an iterative process, with examples presented.ConclusionsThe ICDS has potential to obtain clinical information from the child’s perspective that may otherwise be overlooked. If effective, the ICDS will provide a quick, engaging, and easy-to-use screener that can be utilized in routine care settings. This project highlights the importance of involving an expert review and user codesign in the development of digital assessment tools for children.

Forecasting potential evapotranspiration by combining numerical weather predictions and visible and near-infrared satellite images: an application in southern Italy

AbstractIrrigation according to reliable estimates of crop water requirements (CWR) is one of the key strategies to ensure long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture. In southern Mediterranean regions, during the irrigation season, CWR is almost totally controlled by the potential evapotranspiration of the irrigated crop. An innovative system for forecasting crop potential evapotranspiration (ETp) has been implemented recently in the Campania region (southern Italy). The system produces ETp forecasts with a lead time of up to 5 days, by coupling the visible and near-infrared crop imagery with numerical weather prediction outputs of a limited area model. The forecasts are delivered to farmers with a simple and intuitive web app interface, which makes daily real-time ETp maps accessible from desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. Forecast performances were evaluated for maize fields of two farms in two irrigation seasons (2014–2015). The mean absolute bias of the forecasted ETp was <0.3 mm/day and the RMSE was <0.6 mm/day, both for lead times up to 5 days.

Smart vehicle monitoring and assistance using cloud computing in vehicular Ad Hoc networks

Abstract The increasing number of on road vehicles has become a major cause for congestion, accidents and pollution. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) might be the key to achieve solutions that help in reducing these problems significantly. The connected vehicular networks stream is a rapidly growing field for research and development of various real-time applications. In this paper, novel techniques have been proposed to serve the speed based lane changing, collision avoidance and time of arrival (TOA) based localization in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). As GPS requires clear line-of-sight for accurate services of positioning and localization applications, we designed a Time of Arrival (ToA) based algorithm for areas where strong GPS signals are unavailable. Collision avoidance using automatic braking and camera-based surveillance are a few other applications that we addressed. The feasibility and the viability of the algorithms were demonstrated through simulations in Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) and Network Simulator-2 (NS-2). We prototyped a working hardware and tested it on actual vehicles to assess the effectiveness of the proposed system. We designed a mobile app interface for the on-board unit for smart, efficient and remote traffic monitoring. The integrated VANET Cloud Computing architecture acts as the platform for the proposed applications.

ChilDiBu – A Mobile Application for Bulgarian Children with Special Educational Needs

Designing applications adapted to the capabilities of each user is an important part of modern software engineering. Children with Autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disabilities are a special group of users where standard application design is not a good approach. Some of them have speech disorders; others have disorders of the musculoskeletal system and in their cognitive development. In the literature, these children are referred to as children with special educational needs. Only a few researchers are involved in the development of various computer technologies, including mobile applications appropriate for these children. Some specialized mobile applications for these users can be found in the different mobile stores. However, most of these apps are rather expensive or with inappropriate user interfaces. Another disadvantage in all the apps is the lack of support in the Bulgarian language. It makes them unusable for the youngest users with special needs in Bulgaria. A conceptual model based on the investigation of some existing applications, the well-established theoretical practices, and on the opinion of children without disorders is proposed in this paper. An approach to designing and developing the interactive mobile application ChilDiBu for children with special needs, suitable for the Windows Phone mobile operating system, is presented. ChilDiBu is a picture-based app that combines graphic images, texts and audio files which can be used to learn the Bulgarian alphabet, the numbers up to 20, some basic colors and the daily activities that children perform. The application is focused on the development of the fine motor skills, observation and decision-making skills which is completed with a puzzle for arranging the two-digit numbers. At the end of the paper the app interface, the way it is used and its app architecture are shown.

Research Through the App Store: Understanding Participant Behavior on a Mobile English Learning App

In this study, we analyzed usages behaviors of 53,825 active users from 12 countries in a mobile app called “English Practice.” The data indicated that the app was used most often in the evening from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., and especially midweek, with less use at weekends and on Mondays. Learners used the app for about 5 minutes each session and averaged 10 uses before uninstalling it. The data also provided evidence that there were differences in each country. From the findings, it is suggested that (a) learning tasks be simplified and content reduced for each session, (b) announcements not be made in the early morning or on the weekend as these are easily overlooked, and (c) as user behavior in each country is different, each group be better understood when delivering learning content and designing the app interface. Finally, we concluded that publishing apps in the app store can provide valuable data regarding app users’ behaviors.

Unexpected Effects of a System-Distributed Mobile Application in Maternity Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

As pregnant mothers increasingly engage in shared decision making regarding prenatal decisions, such as induction of labor, the patient's level of activation may influence pregnancy outcomes. One potential tool to increase patient activation in the clinical setting is mobile applications. However, research is limited in comparing mobile apps with other modalities of patient education and engagement tools. This study was designed to test the effectiveness of a mobile app as a replacement for a spiral notebook guide as a patient education and engagement tool in the prenatal clinical setting. This randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Women's Health Clinic and Family Health Clinic of three hospitals. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance was used to test intervention effects in the study sample of 205 patients. Mothers used a mobile app interface to more frequently record information about their pregnancy; however, across time, mothers using a mobile app reported a significant decrease in patient activation. The unexpected negative effects in the group of patients randomized to the mobile app prompt these authors to recommend that health systems pause before distributing their own version of mobile apps that may decrease patient activation. Mobile apps can be inherently empowering and engaging, but how a system encourages their use may ultimately determine their adoption and success.

Mobile app interface design analysis -Focusing on senior portal 50+ Seoul app-

Mobile app interface design analysis -Focusing on senior portal 50+ Seoul app-

Mobile app interface design analysis -Focusing on senior portal 50+ Seoul app

Mobile app interface design analysis -Focusing on senior portal 50+ Seoul app

The #AustralianBeachspace Project: Examining Opportunities for Research Dissemination Using Instagram

The #AustralianBeachspace Project: Examining Opportunities for Research Dissemination Using Instagram

Developing and Evaluating JIApp: Acceptability and Usability of a Smartphone App System to Improve Self-Management in Young People With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

BackgroundFlare-ups in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) are characterized by joint pain and swelling and often accompanied with fatigue, negative emotions, and reduced participation in activities. To minimize the impact of JIA on the physical and psychosocial development and well-being of young people (YP), it is essential to regularly monitor disease activity and side effects, as well as to support self-management such as adherence to treatment plans and engagement in general health-promoting behaviors. Smartphone technology has the potential to engage YP with their health care through convenient self-monitoring and easy access to information. In addition, having a more accurate summary of self-reported fluctuations in symptoms, behaviors, and psychosocial problems can help both YP and health care professionals (HCPs) better understand the patient’s condition, identify barriers to self-management, and assess treatment effectiveness and additional health care needs. No comprehensive smartphone app has yet been developed in collaboration with YP with JIA, their parents, and HCPs involved in their care.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to design, develop, and evaluate the acceptability and usability of JIApp, a self-management smartphone app system for YP with JIA and HCPs.MethodsWe used a qualitative, user-centered design approach involving YP, parents, and HCPs from the rheumatology team. The study was conducted in three phases: (1) phase I focused on developing consensus on the features, content, and design of the app; (2) phase II was used for further refining and evaluating the app prototype; and (3) phase III focused on usability testing of the app. The interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsA total of 29 YP (aged 10-23, median age 17) with JIA, 7 parents, and 21 HCPs were interviewed. Major themes identified as the ones that helped inform app development in phase I were: (1) remote monitoring of symptoms, well-being, and activities; (2) treatment adherence; and (3) education and support. During phase II, three more themes emerged that informed further refinement of the app prototype. These included (4) adapting a reward system to motivate end users for using the app; (5) design of the app interface; and (6) clinical practice integration. The usability testing during phase III demonstrated high rates of overall satisfaction and further affirmed the content validity of the app.ConclusionsWe present the development and evaluation of a smartphone app to encourage self-management and engagement with health care for YP with JIA. The app was found to have high levels of acceptability and usability among YP and HCPs and has the potential to improve health care and outcomes for this age group. Future feasibility testing in a prospective study will firmly establish the reliability, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of such an app intervention for patients with arthritis.

IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY TO THE EVIDENCE-BASED ANTICHOLINERGIC EFFECT ON COGNITION (AEC) SCALE THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF AN APP-BASED RESOURCE

There is growing recognition that medicines with anticholinergic activity are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment, dementia and mortality. We developed an evidence-based tool to assist practitioners in determining the anticholinergic effect on cognition (AEC) of drugs. This was used in a quality improvement programme aimed at enhancing the safety of prescribing in older people referred to memory services across South London. Baseline results found that, prior to the introduction of the tool, only 11% of patients with a high total AEC score had been detected as requiring a medication review. These results highlight the need for a usable system to detect and alert medical practitioners to the anticholinergic burden in their patients. The AEC scale and traffic light system were successfully integrated into clinical practice in SLaM based memory services in 2016. Following publication of the tool, many other trusts sought permission to use the scale in their services. This alerted the authors to the need for an electronic version; an app and web-based interface. The authors worked closely with an app developer to design an app with both a medical and user based interface. Access is through a hand-held device or traditional PC and the app is currently being trialled in local services before public release. The app has been developed to allow all medicines to be checked for anticholinergic burden, calculates a cumulative score for each patient and alerts the user as to which drugs need to be reviewed. A function exists allowing the user to print a report or electronically embed it into a standard correspondence. Preliminary results show that the use of an app and online web-based interface is a superior method for ensuring usability and dissemination of a tool that will protect cognition in vulnerable patient groups. This use of app technology allows access to an evidence-based tool that informs care planning through safe prescribing, and enhances the care of patients with memory impairment. Professional and lay access will be advantageous and spread knowledge and safe prescribing in primary and secondary care services.

Human-Centered Design Study: Enhancing the Usability of a Mobile Phone App in an Integrated Falls Risk Detection System for Use by Older Adult Users.

BackgroundDesign processes such as human-centered design (HCD), which involve the end user throughout the product development and testing process, can be crucial in ensuring that the product meets the needs and capabilities of the user, particularly in terms of safety and user experience. The structured and iterative nature of HCD can often conflict with the necessary rapid product development life-cycles associated with the competitive connected health industry.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to apply a structured HCD methodology to the development of a smartphone app that was to be used within a connected health fall risk detection system. Our methodology utilizes so called discount usability engineering techniques to minimize the burden on resources during development and maintain a rapid pace of development. This study will provide prospective designers a detailed description of the application of a HCD methodology.MethodsA 3-phase methodology was applied. In the first phase, a descriptive “use case” was developed by the system designers and analyzed by both expert stakeholders and end users. The use case described the use of the app and how various actors would interact with it and in what context. A working app prototype and a user manual were then developed based on this feedback and were subjected to a rigorous usability inspection. Further changes were made both to the interface and support documentation. The now advanced prototype was exposed to user testing by end users where further design recommendations were made.ResultsWith combined expert and end-user analysis of a comprehensive use case having originally identified 21 problems with the system interface, we have only seen and observed 3 of these problems in user testing, implying that 18 problems were eliminated between phase 1 and 3. Satisfactory ratings were obtained during validation testing by both experts and end users, and final testing by users shows the system requires low mental, physical, and temporal demands according to the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX).ConclusionsFrom our observation of older adults’ interactions with smartphone interfaces, there were some recurring themes. Clear and relevant feedback as the user attempts to complete a task is critical. Feedback should include pop-ups, sound tones, color or texture changes, or icon changes to indicate that a function has been completed successfully, such as for the connection sequence. For text feedback, clear and unambiguous language should be used so as not to create anxiety, particularly when it comes to saving data. Warning tones or symbols, such as caution symbols or shrill tones, should only be used if absolutely necessary. Our HCD methodology, designed and implemented based on the principles of the International Standard Organizaton (ISO) 9241-210 standard, produced a functional app interface within a short production cycle, which is now suitable for use by older adults in long term clinical trials.

Big location‐based social media messages from China's Sina Weibo network: Collection, storage, visualization, and potential ways of analysis

AbstractChina's social media platform, Sina Weibo, like Twitter, hosts a considerable amount of big data: messages, comments, pictures. Collecting and analyzing information from this treasury of human behavior data is a challenge, although the message exchange on the network is readable by everyone through the web or app interface. The official Application Programming Interface (API) is the gateway to access and download public content from Sina Weibo and is used to collect messages for all mainland China. The nearby_timeline() request is used to harvest only messages with associated location information. This technical note serves as a reference for researchers who do not speak Mandarin but want to collect data from this rich source of information. Ways of data visualization are presented as a point cloud, density per areal unit, or clustered using Density‐Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN). The relation of messages to census information is also given.

Development of a Multi-Behavioral mHealth App for Women Smokers

This article describes the development of the See Me Smoke-Free™ (SMSF) mobile health application, which uses guided imagery to support women in smoking cessation, eating a healthy diet, and increasing physical activity. Focus group discussions, with member checks, were conducted to refine the intervention content and app user interface. Data related to the context of app deployment were collected via user testing sessions and internal quality control testing, which identified and addressed functionality issues, content problems, and bugs. Interactive app features include playback of guided imagery audio files, notification pop-ups, award-sharing on social media, a tracking calendar, content resources, and direct call to the local tobacco quitline. Focus groups helped design the user interface and identified several themes for incorporation into app content, including positivity, the rewards of smoking cessation, and the integrated benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. User testing improved app functionality and usability on many Android phone models. Changes to the app content and function were made iteratively by the development team as a result of focus group and user testing. Despite extensive internal and user testing, unanticipated data collection and reporting issues emerged during deployment due not only to the variety of Android software and hardware but also to individual phone settings and use.

Issues and Challenges of Unified Payment Interface Apps

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is a revolutionary method of money transfer enabled by the banks. This mobile app-based payment system is developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The NPCI manages the money transfer switch of the UPI payment system. This article is focused on highlighting the issues and challenges for using UPI (Unified Payment Interface) apps (applications) and suggest ways that may increase their usage which can be helpful in reaching a cashless economy at the earliest. Based on the theoretical reviews, it was found that UPI come with some set of limitations like usability, positioning, legal, awareness etc. The present study highlighted the major problems with this online platform of payment system. The study begins with the background of demonetization and launch of UPI system by various banks. In the next section of the study, the idea of UPI after demonetization is discussed. In the later section, the study emphasized on key challenges with UPI. The study concludes with the suggestions on how to overcome the challenges faced in making UPI more successful towards achieving cashless economy.

Frameworks for Exploring the User Experience of Mobile Apps

Mobile applications have become more popular due to mobile technology innovation and the sustaining rising smartphone and tablet users. As design products comply with user experience they are able to meet customer satisfaction and improve customer loyalty. Therefore, the user interface design of mobile applications has become more important to academics and industry. The goal of this study was to improve customer satisfaction through redesign user interface of the mobile app. This study was based on Hassenzahl's Model of user experience, through three design process, improve Nike+ Running user interface. Our approaches included focus group interviews for runners to understand the needs of runners of pedometer APP, a questionnaire to measure user experience satisfaction, and product design to redesign Nike+ Running APP UI, The result showed that satisfying experience was highly salient in this study.

Ultra-portable, wireless smartphone spectrometer for rapid, non-destructive testing of fruit ripeness.

We demonstrate a smartphone based spectrometer design that is standalone and supported on a wireless platform. The device is inherently low-cost and the power consumption is minimal making it portable to carry out a range of studies in the field. All essential components of the device like the light source, spectrometer, filters, microcontroller and wireless circuits have been assembled in a housing of dimensions 88 mm × 37 mm × 22 mm and the entire device weighs 48 g. The resolution of the spectrometer is 15 nm, delivering accurate and repeatable measurements. The device has a dedicated app interface on the smartphone to communicate, receive, plot and analyze spectral data. The performance of the smartphone spectrometer is comparable to existing bench-top spectrometers in terms of stability and wavelength resolution. Validations of the device were carried out by demonstrating non-destructive ripeness testing in fruit samples. Ultra-Violet (UV) fluorescence from Chlorophyll present in the skin was measured across various apple varieties during the ripening process and correlated with destructive firmness tests. A satisfactory agreement was observed between ripeness and fluorescence signals. This demonstration is a step towards possible consumer, bio-sensing and diagnostic applications that can be carried out in a rapid manner.