A User Journey: Development of a Drone-Based Medication Delivery – Meeting Developers and Co-Developers Expectations

This study builds on initial ADApp research, that identified the factors influencing the intention to use a pharmacy-drone-app. Through two sub-studies, it further explores the participatory development in drone-assisted medication delivery technology: Study 1 aimed to identify technical orientation points as practical guidelines for participatory technology design. By recruiting naive adhoc groups at each stage of development, a possible bias effect due to response shifts caused by repeated interviews with the core group was avoided. This approach resulted in the identification of eight superordinate categories which serve as technical work goals for future participatory technology developments. Study 2 focused on understanding the perceived collaboration between developers (software and drone developers) and core group participants (co-developers), aiming to identify factors influencing the participatory development process. Using tandem groups of developers and co-developers as a qualitative method, five critical factors were identified, which provide insight into the unique challenges and goals of collaborative development, helping to establish practical recommendations for integrating participatory approaches in future technology projects. Taken together, the studies highlight the value of participatory methods in promoting user acceptance and improving collaboration, providing fundamental strategies for future research and development in user-centered technology design.