Does Domain Change the Opinion of Individuals on Human Values? A Preliminary Investigation on eHealth Apps End-users
This work addresses the problem of accurately eliciting human values for software developers, but it is incremental as it provides preliminary insights specific to eHealth apps.
The study investigated whether the domain context affects end-users' opinions on human values in eHealth apps, finding that generic and domain-specific value instruments yield different value opinion types, such as three types from generic instruments and two from domain-specific ones.
The elicitation of end-users' human values - such as freedom, honesty, transparency, etc. - is important in the development of software systems. We carried out two preliminary Q-studies to understand (a) the general human value opinion types of eHealth applications (apps) end-users (b) the eHealth domain human value opinion types of eHealth apps end-users (c) whether there are differences between the general and eHealth domain opinion types. Our early results show three value opinion types using generic value instruments: (1) fun-loving, success-driven and independent end-user, (2) security-conscious, socially-concerned, and success-driven end-user, and (3) benevolent, success-driven, and conformist end-user Our results also show two value opinion types using domain-specific value instruments: (1) security-conscious, reputable, and honest end-user, and (2) success-driven, reputable and pain-avoiding end-user. Given these results, consideration should be given to domain context in the design and application of values elicitation instruments.