Development of a Small Steps for Big Changes Diabetes Prevention App: Application of the Development Phase of FASTER

mHealth technologies are being continually used to supplement diabetes prevention programs. Given the thousands of mHealth apps on the market and lack of an evidence base, there has been a call for more thorough development and evaluation of apps targeting diabetes prevention behaviors. This paper presents a case study on the development of an mHealth app to support participants in the Small Steps for Big Changes diabetes prevention program, using the Framework for Accelerated and Systematic Technology-based intervention development and Evaluation Research (FASTER). The design process followed the 5 stages within the development phase of FASTER (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test) and broadly consisted of a needs assessment, literature review, end-user feedback and heuristic evaluation. Additionally, the app behavior change scale was consulted to ensure that the resulting app included evidence-based techniques to maximize its potential of behavior change. This systematic process resulted in the development of an app consisting of evidence-based behavior change techniques likely to elicit behavior change. This paper is the first to use the FASTER to develop a diabetes prevention app (or app of any type) and confirms the usability and usefulness of the framework within the complex area of preventative medicine. The systematic development of the Small Steps for Big Changes app will be followed by thorough validation coupled with usability and effectiveness evaluations in the next two phases of the FASTER. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.