Why use Behavior Change Techniques in Digital Health Design?
Because they help us design solutions that are grounded in evidence, and not just what the designers or pm's assumptions may be.
As I spend more time in digital health design, I can clearly see the benefits of using the the Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) that Michie and colleagues created.
These include techniques such as:
1) Problem solving 2) Reward completion 3) Prompts and cues 4) Goal setting 5) Self monitoring
In digital health, these techniques help translate behavioral science into concrete features that can be used by designers. Think about everything from reminders that support habit formation, to progress tracking that builds perceived competence, or social rewards that sustain engagement over time.
Now, most designers may already apply these - though from most research only a few of these BCT's end up being used in most health apps.
In any case, the real challenge - the one we help digital health companies with is contextualization. Not only is knowing which BCT to use important, but also how that technique is expressed through design, timing, tone and the brand you are working with. That determines whether it actually is going to work effectively or not to change behavior.
For me, the best way to design for digital health us when behavioral scientists, designers, and product managers collaborate closely, not at the end, not just to review things, but at each stage so that there is shared understanding in how we use evidence and apply it to usability and engagement.
Now with all this said, BCTs tell you what you need to enable behavior change, but they don’t tell you how to make those behaviors feel worth doing.
For that, we need to consider motivation in the moment of action, how for example we create choice, show progress and connection through the digital experience.
Here is how we use BCTs in Practice in a project:
1)
Define the target behaviors (both in and outside your digital product) - really specify what users need to do, not just what they need to understand or believe.
2)Diagnose the behavioral drivers - use behavioral models to uncover barriers and enablers.
3)Select relevant techniques - Identify which BCTs address the mechanisms you’ve diagnosed and translate them into product features. 4) Layer in motivational design to increase engagement - make sure your features also support choice, progress, and connection, so the behavior feels self-driven, not externally imposed.
How do you design for engagement and behavior change?