How can it be that out of the 93 behavior change techniques that can be used, on average only 7 are chosen?
Digital products seem to have shortcomings when it comes to effectiveness, which is a huge missed opportunity for your employees and customers.
I am creating a database for companies to leverage evidence-based strategies for behavior change (which will only be available to teams) and a paper caught my eye. In it, we saw that out of the 93 behavior change techniques that can be used, on average only 7 were chosen, and the most common were related to:
1. Feedback on behavior 2. Goal setting 3.
Action planning
As the study says
"within the “Goals and Planning” BCT group, only 3 out of 9 BCTs were utilized.
Implementing features that utilize other BCTs that enable goal setting and planning (eg, problem-solving technique, asking the user to commit to their goal, and providing an opportunity for the user to review their goal) might increase the likelihood of the effectiveness of the app.
The use of evidence and theoretical frameworks is vital in developing behavior change solutions.
The study made me question the following: (it's not the only one I have seen like this)
Are teams developing apps for behavior change in a systematic and evidence-based way, using models, theories, and frameworks to inform their hypothesis - or are they just copying each other?
If you design digital products with the former you can have a competitive edge over your competitors. ( We do this in our consulting work - if you are curious, do let me know)
This will inevitably lead to better outcomes for your people and your business.
What are your thoughts?
Image and paper by Bondaronek P, et al "Quality of Publicly Available Physical Activity Apps: Review and Content Analysis"