The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic

Muneera Bano; Chetan Arora; Didar Zowghi; Alessio Ferrari

doi:10.1109/RE51729.2021.00017

The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic

Muneera Bano, Chetan Arora, Didar Zowghi, Alessio Ferrari

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To complement the manual contact-tracing methods, a flood of coronavirus-related apps was launched in the first half of 2020. Despite the incredible promises made by the governments, contact-tracing apps did not live up to expectations. We provide a contextual perspective of the government commissioned contact-tracing apps from four countries to understand the non-functional requirements (NFRs) and socio-technical factors that hindered the success of these apps. We collected the user reviews from the app stores for iOS and Android versions and identified top news articles related to each app. Our analysis revealed that the dominant factors behind the negligible success of these apps are complex and entangled with the cultural and political dimensions rather than being just technical. The multilayer diversity of the target users also impacted the design and development of contact-tracing apps in an extremely challenging situation. This perspective paper brings into light important elements, such as politics and socio-cultural aspects that should be studied in the design of contact-tracing apps, and public apps in general.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings - 29th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2021
Editors	Ana Moreira, Kurt Schneider, Michael Vierhauser, Jane Cleland-Huang
Place of Publication	Piscataway NJ USA
Publisher	IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pages	106-116
Number of pages	11
ISBN (Electronic)	9781665428569
ISBN (Print)	9781665428576
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/RE51729.2021.00017
Publication status	Published - 2021
Externally published	Yes
Event	IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference 2021 - Online, Notre Dame, United States of America Duration: 20 Sept 2021 → 24 Sept 2021 Conference number: 29th https://conf.researchr.org/home/RE-2021 (Website) https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/9604522/proceeding (Proceedings)

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering
Publisher	IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ISSN (Print)	1090-705X
ISSN (Electronic)	2332-6441

Conference

Conference	IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference 2021
Abbreviated title	RE 2021
Country/Territory	United States of America
City	Notre Dame
Period	20/09/21 → 24/09/21
Internet address	https://conf.researchr.org/home/RE-2021 (Website) https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/9604522/proceeding (Proceedings)

Keywords

Contact-Tracing Apps
COVID-19
Crisis Management
Non-Functional Requirements
Public Good

Access to Document

10.1109/RE51729.2021.00017

Cite this

Bano, M., Arora, C., Zowghi, D., & Ferrari, A. (2021). The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic. In A. Moreira, K. Schneider, M. Vierhauser, & J. Cleland-Huang (Eds.), Proceedings - 29th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2021 (pp. 106-116). (Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering). IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1109/RE51729.2021.00017

Bano, Muneera ; Arora, Chetan ; Zowghi, Didar et al. / The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps : when NFRs collide with pandemic. Proceedings - 29th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2021. editor / Ana Moreira ; Kurt Schneider ; Michael Vierhauser ; Jane Cleland-Huang. Piscataway NJ USA : IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2021. pp. 106-116 (Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering).

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abstract = "To complement the manual contact-tracing methods, a flood of coronavirus-related apps was launched in the first half of 2020. Despite the incredible promises made by the governments, contact-tracing apps did not live up to expectations. We provide a contextual perspective of the government commissioned contact-tracing apps from four countries to understand the non-functional requirements (NFRs) and socio-technical factors that hindered the success of these apps. We collected the user reviews from the app stores for iOS and Android versions and identified top news articles related to each app. Our analysis revealed that the dominant factors behind the negligible success of these apps are complex and entangled with the cultural and political dimensions rather than being just technical. The multilayer diversity of the target users also impacted the design and development of contact-tracing apps in an extremely challenging situation. This perspective paper brings into light important elements, such as politics and socio-cultural aspects that should be studied in the design of contact-tracing apps, and public apps in general.",

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Bano, M, Arora, C, Zowghi, D & Ferrari, A 2021, The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic. in A Moreira, K Schneider, M Vierhauser & J Cleland-Huang (eds), Proceedings - 29th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2021. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering, IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Piscataway NJ USA, pp. 106-116, IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference 2021, Notre Dame, United States of America, 20/09/21. https://doi.org/10.1109/RE51729.2021.00017

The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic. / Bano, Muneera; Arora, Chetan; Zowghi, Didar et al.
Proceedings - 29th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2021. ed. / Ana Moreira; Kurt Schneider; Michael Vierhauser; Jane Cleland-Huang. Piscataway NJ USA: IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2021. p. 106-116 (Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

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N2 - To complement the manual contact-tracing methods, a flood of coronavirus-related apps was launched in the first half of 2020. Despite the incredible promises made by the governments, contact-tracing apps did not live up to expectations. We provide a contextual perspective of the government commissioned contact-tracing apps from four countries to understand the non-functional requirements (NFRs) and socio-technical factors that hindered the success of these apps. We collected the user reviews from the app stores for iOS and Android versions and identified top news articles related to each app. Our analysis revealed that the dominant factors behind the negligible success of these apps are complex and entangled with the cultural and political dimensions rather than being just technical. The multilayer diversity of the target users also impacted the design and development of contact-tracing apps in an extremely challenging situation. This perspective paper brings into light important elements, such as politics and socio-cultural aspects that should be studied in the design of contact-tracing apps, and public apps in general.

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Bano M, Arora C, Zowghi D, Ferrari A. The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic. In Moreira A, Schneider K, Vierhauser M, Cleland-Huang J, editors, Proceedings - 29th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2021. Piscataway NJ USA: IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 2021. p. 106-116. (Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering). doi: 10.1109/RE51729.2021.00017

The rise and fall of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: when NFRs collide with pandemic

Abstract

Publication series

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Keywords

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