[Paper Review] Human Values in Mobile App Development: An Empirical Study on Bangladeshi Agriculture Mobile Apps

Rifat Ara Shams, Mojtaba Shahin+5 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Oct 11, 2021

ICT in Developing Communities4 citations

TL;DR

This study investigates how Bangladeshi female farmers' human values are reflected in agriculture mobile apps through mixed-methods research. It identifies 22 values expected by users, finds 15 are currently reflected while 7—especially accessibility and pleasure—are violated, and proposes 14 actionable strategies, such as human-centered value elicitation and dedicated value teams, to embed these values in app development for marginalized users.

ABSTRACT

Given the ubiquity of mobile applications (apps) in daily lives, understanding and reflecting end-users' human values (e.g., transparency, privacy, social recognition etc.) in apps has become increasingly important. Violations of end users' values by software applications have been reported in the media and have resulted in a wide range of difficulties for end users. Value violations may bring more and lasting problems for marginalized and vulnerable groups of end-users. This research aims to understand the extent to which the values of Bangladeshi female farmers, marginalized and vulnerable end-users, who are less studied by the software engineering community, are reflected in agriculture apps in Bangladesh. Further to this, we aim to identify possible strategies to embed their values in those apps. To this end, we conducted a mixed-methods empirical study consisting of 13 interviews with app practitioners and four focus groups with 20 Bangladeshi female farmers. The accumulated results from the interviews and focus groups identified 22 values of Bangladeshi female farmers, which the participants expect to be reflected in the agriculture apps. Among these 22 values, 15 values (e.g., accuracy, independence) are already reflected and 7 values (e.g., accessibility, pleasure) are ignored/violated in the existing agriculture apps. We also identified 14 strategies (e.g., "applying human-centered approaches to elicit values", "establishing a dedicated team/person for values concerns") to address Bangladeshi female farmers' values in agriculture apps.

Motivation & Objective

• To understand the extent to which human values of marginalized Bangladeshi female farmers are reflected in existing agriculture mobile apps.
• To identify specific values that are currently missing or violated in these apps, particularly those affecting vulnerable users.
• To explore practical strategies that app developers can adopt to embed these values during the software development lifecycle.
• To address the gap in software engineering research on human values from the perspective of underrepresented, rural, and female end-users in developing countries.

Proposed method

• Conducted 13 semi-structured interviews with mobile app practitioners involved in agriculture app development in Bangladesh.
• Held four focus groups with 20 Bangladeshi female farmers to elicit their expectations and experiences regarding app design and values.
• Used a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative data from interviews and focus groups to identify values and strategies.
• Applied Schwartz’s theory of basic human values as a conceptual framework to guide value identification and interpretation.
• Conducted member checking with participants to validate findings on values and strategies, enhancing confirmability.
• Thematic analysis was used to extract values and strategies, with triangulation across data sources to improve validity.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 To what extent are the human values of Bangladeshi female farmers reflected in existing agriculture mobile apps?
• RQ2 Which specific human values are currently missing or violated in these apps from the users’ perspective?
• RQ3 What strategies can app developers adopt to better embed the values of marginalized end-users in agriculture app development?

Key findings

• A total of 22 human values were identified as important to Bangladeshi female farmers who use agriculture apps, including both functional and socio-emotional values.
• Of these, 15 values—such as accuracy, independence, creativity, and self-respect—were found to be currently reflected in existing apps.
• Seven values were identified as missing or violated, including accessibility, pleasure, trust, safety, and user-friendliness, with accessibility being a key concern across multiple focus groups.
• The study identified 14 actionable strategies for developers to embed values, such as applying human-centered design approaches, enhancing developers’ non-technical knowledge, and establishing dedicated roles for value concerns.
• The findings show that while functional values like accuracy are well-addressed, socio-emotional and accessibility-related values are systematically overlooked in current app design.
• Participant feedback highlighted feasibility concerns, particularly around financial costs of implementing certain strategies, suggesting a need for cost-effective value integration methods in future work.