AI-Powered Symptom Assessment and User Experience: A Case Study of Simtomi and Simtomi-Care
Jinha Lee (Indiana Wesleyan UniversityMarionUSA)Chan Hyung Lee (Research Institute of MediarkSeoulRepublic of Korea)Hyunsung Lee (Research Institute of MediarkSeoulRepublic of Korea)Seunghwan Kim (College of MedicineEwha Womans UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea)Ban Hyung Lee (Research Institute of MediarkSeoulRepublic of Korea)Minjun Shin (Department of BiologyIndiana UniversityBloomingtonUSA)Hojin Shin (Hamilton Southeastern High SchoolFishersUSA)Jungdo Park (Research Institute of MediarkSeoulRepublic of Korea)
Oct 2026
Human-computer Interaction
Abstract
Digital symptom checkers are widely used for quick guidance on health concerns, yet many systems still face challenges in collecting accurate information, supporting communication, or integrating with clinical workflows. To explore how these tools function in real use, we examine the case of the Simtomi system, which pairs a multilingual symptom assessment application with a provider-facing platform. Empirical studies were conducted in two countries. In South Korea, based on participants' firsthand experience, we found that the system improved how patients communicated their symptoms and helped clinicians review cases more efficiently through structured summaries aligned with diagnostic reasoning. In the United States, responses from prospective users and healthcare professionals highlighted the value of multilingual support, structured questioning, and the system's potential to assist clinical coordination. These findings offer a grounded account of how AI-based symptom assessment tools can operate across different healthcare contexts and provide broader insight into usability, trust, and usefulness in digital health.
This publication proposes a definition and a classification of agile software development approaches and analyses ten software development methods that can be characterized as being "agile" against the defined criterion.
P. Abrahamsson, O. Salo, Jussi Ronkainen et al.· arXiv.org· 727 citations· ⚡54
The study shows that agile practices improve both informal and formal communication, but indicates that, in larger development situations involving multiple external stakeholders, a mismatch of adequate communication mechanisms can sometimes even hinder the communication.
M. Pikkarainen, Jukka Haikara, O. Salo et al.· Empirical Software Engineeri...· 401 citations· ⚡48
The results indicate that software engineering work practices are chosen opportunistically, adapted and configured to provide value under the constrains imposed by the startup context.
Nicolò Paternoster, Carmine Giardino, M. Unterkalmsteiner et al.· Information and Software Tec...· 394 citations· ⚡54
The perception of the impact of agile methods is predominantly positive, and several challenge areas were discovered, but based on this study, agile methods are here to stay.
M. Laanti, O. Salo, P. Abrahamsson· Information and Software Tec...· 260 citations· ⚡20
Related blog posts
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduOct 7, 2026
Students in MIT’s Concourse program delve deeply into the human condition, debate challenging questions, and learn to develop judgment about issues that can’t be quantified.
Jennifer Neville did not want to go into computer science—but that’s exactly where she landed. Neville discusses the starts and stops that led to her professional sweet spot and her work identifying “surprising failures” making it hard for AI to handle complexity. The post What AI gets wrong and what failure teaches us appeared first on Microsoft Research.
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduSep 30, 2026
Able to defeat top-ranked human players and more efficient than other models, the new system could help decision-makers in military maneuvers or business negotiations.