This first step aims to answer the question What problem will this app solve and for whom?
It is the ‘blue sky thinking’ part of the process where potential ideas are formulated. It is not the stage to go into specific design choices or delivery mechanisms, but instead to clearly define the app’s purpose and target audience by considering demographics, location etc. It is the time to define the following:
- The Problem Statement - what is the issue you are solving?
- What is the existing solution in use and what would your digital solution do differently?
- In one sentence, what would your product need to do?
The intended target audience or ‘End user’ of the app, should be involved from project initiation, for example, by running focus groups to develop the basic app idea.
TIP: This is also the time so start considering Intellectual Property (IP) protection- King’s College London has a dedicated IP and Licensing team that can be contacted on innovation@kcl.ac.uk for advice.
Case study: The Together for Her (TFH) app
The TFH app solves the problem of how expectant mothers can find trusted information about staying healthy during pregnancy.
This simple problem statement triggered key development questions in the project initiation stage. For example:
- How and where will expectant mothers be identified?
India was chosen as the initial target market location for TFH based on two main facts. Firstly, at the time of TFH’s conception, data from the World health Organisation (WHO) showed that India accounted for 20% of global infant and maternal deaths and is therefore clearly a priority target for healthy pregnancy support. Secondly, smartphone availability has substantially increased in low- and middle-income countries, and a digital app can therefore provide a scalable, cost-effective method to make information available to expectant mothers. Identification:
- What qualifies as a ‘trusted’ information source?
It was decided to take an evidence-based approach to the app development, using resources published by trusted authorities with no conflict of interest, such as the World Health Organisation. Using this TFH information would reflect key problems to be addressed in its target population.
