Remote Testing of Usability in Medical Apps Janina Sauer 1,2(B) , Alexander Muenzberg 1,2 , Laura Siewert 1 , Andreas Hein 2 , and Norbert Roesch 1 1 University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany {janina.sauer,alexander.muenzberg,norbert.roesch}@hs-kl.de 2 Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany {janina.sauer,alexander.muenzberg,andreas.hein}@uni-oldenburg.de Abstract. Usability tests play an important role in any kind of software, as they limit errors and misunderstandings. Especially in the growing market of medical applications it is indispensable, but time-consuming and expensive. In order to improve the quality of medical applications and remove obstacles for develop- ers, a method has been developed that simplifies testing the usability of mobile medical applications and provides additional data on compliance and effective- ness. Because this test method is remote-controlled and asynchronous, finding examiners is simplified. It also allows more subjects to be found and more data to be collected. This increases user experience and achieves more natural results as study participants act in their natural environment. In order to decide whether the app developed is suitable for this remote testing method, a questionnaire was developed to assist in the decision-making process. The described method will be tested in a study. Keywords: Medical app · Usability · Remote testing · App testing · Mobile health 1 Introduction The market for mobile healthcare has grown steadily in recent years and continues to grow. In 2017, 325,000 health, fitness and medical apps are available in all major app stores. Last year, 78,000 new health apps were launched in the major app stores. Estimated 3.7 billion downloads of health apps in 2017 [1]. Within the European Union (EU), medical apps have to be considered as medical device and are entitled under the European Medical Device Regulation (93/42/EEC) if the intended use is linked with medical purposes. But even in other cases, comprehensive tests are mandatory to improves product quality, reduce user errors, increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. It’s also reduces support costs and increases the recommendation rate [2]. Regarding the United States (US) market and according to the US Food and Drug Administration, most errors are only discovered at the end of development, so special attention should be paid to formative testing during development. Regardless of when the tests are performed, the type of test is crucial. © ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering 2020 Published by Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. All Rights Reserved G. M. P. O’Hare et al. (Eds.): MobiHealth 2019, LNICST 320, pp. 3–17, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49289-2_1