Mobile App Design Standards for NHS Wales Informatics Service.
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Background

NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) commissioned work in spring 2018 to deliver this suite of User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) standards, together with an accompanying template and icon library.

Their purpose is to guide anyone building mobile applications on behalf of NWIS.

These standards have been validated through external expert review and NWIS stakeholder and user workshops and engagement that first took place in summer 2018.

Scope

The standards apply to the guidance of UX and UI implementation for mobile (phone and tablet devices) native operating system applications for NWIS use. For the purpose of interoperability and transferability, this documentation aligns with existing and emerging national and international standards, and with NWIS standards and branding.

Design Principles

The app design standards were produced to align with the following principles:

  • Usability: easy for developers to use and understand
  • Usefulness: the guidance addresses valid existing or potential UX or UI design issue(s)
  • Minimally restrictive: to not limit potential useful functions, features and/or innovations
  • Interoperability: considering current and future-facing standards, services and products
  • Easily implemented: minimal technical barriers or resource implications
  • Progressive, dynamic and responsive to emerging standards and best practice
  • Accessible: available for the stakeholder audience, and aware of potential barriers to mobile access

Harmonised Standards

The guidance complies with the following harmonised standards. References to these standards appear in brackets.

Terminology

The following terms in this guide have specific meanings as below and are consistently used in other NWIS software development standards.

Do/must: an absolute requirement of the standard

Do not/must not: this feature is not permitted in this standard

Should/should not: follows the standard wherever possible, but not always possible due to external factors such as device differences (e.g. type, other software installed and working memory)

Avoid: this feature or result does not meet the standard, but is tolerated in limited, documented circumstances

If required: this should only be used if appropriate or required but is not enforced

Exceptions: sometimes exceptions to these standards are necessary to optimise UI and/or UX. The standard defines where exceptions are permitted. Document every exception, including senior stakeholder sign-off, using the development checklists.

For example, such as: this provides an example of an implementation of the standard

Other Terminology: terms such as “critical” and “important” are referred to throughout this standards documentation however they have not been defined within these standards. It is expected these terms will be defined elsewhere as further explained in the User Interaction/Notifications section.

See OpenAPI Specification for similar use of key words.

Governance Impact on UI/UX Standards

Clinical, information and quality assurance governance will affect UI and UX design standards.

Where these standards could lead to a serious safety effect, the standard indicates the need to refer to controls.

The standard is explicit when clinical and/or information governance is required, to implement the standard safely.

This standard requires further governance considerations review for:

  • Notifications
  • Alerts

Implementing clinical mobile applications requires care. Designers and developers must seek clinical and/or information governance guidance and sign off, in case of any doubt about real-world impact of the app function.

Exceptions

Exceptions to these standards may be considered necessary to optimise UI and/or UX. These must always be accompanied by the appropriate documentation, including senior stakeholder sign-off, linked to the development checklists.