Design Challenges and User Needs in Disaster Support Mobile Apps: A Large-Scale Analysis of Features and Reviews

2024-07-11

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of systematic empirical evidence guiding the design of disaster-support mobile applications. We conducted a large-scale analysis of user behavior and experience across 44 disaster preparedness apps and 28,161 authentic user reviews. Methodologically, we integrated manual functional annotation, LDA topic modeling (identifying 18 critical issue categories), fine-grained sentiment analysis, and root-cause failure diagnosis (e.g., login failures, network anomalies, crashes). Our key contribution is the first empirically grounded, lifecycle-spanning capability framework—comprising 13 core competencies covering preparedness, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery. Results reveal that 24.30% of negative reviews stem from reliability defects, severely compromising usability in safety-critical scenarios. Based on these findings, we propose human-centered design principles and actionable reliability-enhancement guidelines, offering both theoretical foundations and engineering pathways for developing high-assurance emergency software.

Technology Category

• Reasoning under Uncertainty: Applications
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Humans and AI: Planning and Decision Support for Human-Machine Teams

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Metrics for user behavior and evaluating success
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web applications in cross-disciplinary domains and verticals such as mixed reality, smart cities, and digital health

Abstract

Disaster support mobile apps play a central role during emergencies in conveying timely alerts to communities and providing recovery guidance. Their importance continues to grow as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of disasters, and as mobile devices become a primary information source for most people. However, despite their critical role, there has been limited systematic investigation into how these apps are designed and how users experience them in real-world contexts. This paper presents a large-scale empirical study of disaster support mobile apps aimed at addressing this gap. We investigated 44 apps available on the Google Play Store and the App Store and analyzed 28,161 user reviews to understand common functionalities, user expectations, and challenges encountered during use. Our feature analysis identifies 13 core capabilities spanning the stages of preparation, response, and recovery of the disaster lifecycle. Topic Modelling revealed 18 topics, with the highest discussions focusing on app alert functionality, the use of maps, and monetary transactions. Sentiment analysis revealed that while 53.09% of users provided positive feedback, 24.30% expressed negative opinions, and 11.25% remained neutral. It also showed that signup/signin issues, network problems, and app crashes were the most frustrating to users. These impacted user safety by preventing access when it mattered most. Our findings emphasize the need to approach disaster apps as safety-critical and human-centred systems, where reliability and ease of use are essential. We provide practical recommendations to support developers and emergency agencies in improving the dependability and accessibility of future disaster support apps.

Problem

• Investigating design challenges in disaster support mobile apps through large-scale analysis
• Understanding user needs and frustrations with app reliability during emergencies
• Addressing gaps in systematic evaluation of real-world disaster app performance

Innovation

• Analyzed 44 disaster apps and 28,161 user reviews
• Used topic modeling to identify key app functionalities
• Provided reliability recommendations for safety-critical systems