Usability and communication of mobile applications for risk management: the experience of MAppERS

Prevention of natural hazards and support to risk management benefit both from volunteers' engagement and from the deployment of new technologies. The DG-ECHO project, "Mobile Applications for Emergency Response and Support" (MAppERS, 2013-2015), has developed a mobile platform which was tested and applied in flood-prone areas. This platform consists of a mobile phone app (MP) and a related dashboard. The platform development implied design, testing and piloting. In order to make the app as user-friendly as possible, research on usability and communication elements was carried out in the preparatory design phase, which is illustrated in this paper.