Solving ‘wicked problems’ in the app co-design process

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.