Which challenges need behavioural science?
Which challenges need behavioural science?
We know behavioural helps in design, product development, and in managing change. It’s that insight powerhouse to understand people and change their behaviour.
But behavioural science is a big field, and the challenges businesses face are diverse.
So, how do we decide which challenges should benefit from behavioural science?
As designers and creatives, it’s important to pick our battles wisely. Not every problem is right for a behavioural approach.
When talking to potential clients and with other team members I seek these 4 challenge types:
Start
Stop
Modify
Grow
1. Start new behaviours
Think about a time when you tried a new app because it promised to simplify your life. That’s what this quadrant is about: getting people to adopt new, helpful actions... and eventually habits.
Whether it’s a new feature in an app or a different approach at work, the goal is the same: make the new action so easy and appealing that everyone wants to give it a try.
What does 'start' look like on a project?
What it involves:
The 'Start' quadrant focuses on getting users to adopt new habits or behaviours. This could mean encouraging them to try a new feature in an app, adopt a new product, or integrate a novel service into their daily routines. The primary goal here is to make the new behaviour as attractive and easy to adopt as possible.
For instance, let’s say you’re designing an app that helps users manage their finances better. You’re not just creating a tool; you’re encouraging a new habit of regular financial review and budgeting.
Key challenges with 'start':
One of the biggest hurdles in this quadrant is overcoming user inertia—the natural resistance to change.
People are generally comfortable with their routines, so introducing something new is always a challenge. The design must not only attract attention but also convincingly address any hesitations users might have about altering their habits.
Main approaches:
With start you have two focuses:
Make it appear attractive
Make it easy to do
Your design needs to stand out and appeal to users right from the start. It should be visually appealing, easy to understand, and simple to integrate into daily life. Think about those sleek, engaging introductions you see in some apps that guide you through using new features with ease and fun.
An effective way to achieve this is through a blend of educational content and interactive elements that guide users step-by-step, making the new behaviour less daunting and more accessible.
Main strategy:
Highlight benefits
To motivate users to start a new behaviour, your design should clearly articulate the benefits they will gain. This involves highlighting what’s in it for them personally and how it makes their life easier, better, or more enjoyable.
For example, if the new app feature involves tracking spending, show how this behaviour can lead directly to saving money or achieving financial goals. Real-life testimonials or scenarios depicting the positive outcomes of adopting the new behaviour can be very persuasive.
Measuring 'start' success:
To understand if your design is effective, look at metrics like adoption rates, user feedback, and how quickly and thoroughly users integrate the new behaviour into their routines. Early satisfaction indicators will tell you a lot about whether the new habit is likely to stick.
2. Stop unwanted behaviours
Here, you help people let go of old habits that aren’t doing them any favours. Imagine convincing someone to stop using an old version of software that’s slowing down their work. It’s about showing them there's a better way.
What does 'stop' look like on a project?
What it involves:
The 'Stop' quadrant is all about helping users give up old habits that are no longer useful or might be holding them back. This could be anything from stopping the use of an inefficient feature in an app to breaking a bad habit in daily life. For example, a digital platform might aim to get users to stop relying on paper and shift to a more eco-friendly digital solution.
Key challenges with 'stop':
One of the main challenges here is overcoming the comfort of familiarity. People tend to stick to what they know, even if it's not the best option available. Your job as a designer is to help break this cycle by making the transition to new methods as smooth and rewarding as possible.
Main approaches:
With start you have two focuses:
Barriers
Alternatives
Your design should focus on identifying and removing barriers that prevent people from giving up old actions. At the same time, it’s crucial to provide compelling alternatives that are clearly superior to the old ways. This could mean enhancing the usability and functionality of new features to make the old ones obsolete.
For instance, if you're encouraging users to stop using an outdated software version, you might highlight the risks associated with staying on the old version, such as security vulnerabilities or lack of support. At the same time, showcase the benefits of upgrading, like new features and improved performance.
Main Strategy:
Compel people to change.
To motivate users to stop a behaviour, emphasise the immediate and long-term benefits of making the change. It's not enough to tell users what they should stop; you need to make them want to stop.
For example, a mobile app might use notifications to remind users of how much time they waste on unproductive tasks and suggest quick changes or new features that can help them reclaim that time.
Measuring 'stop' success:
Success in this quadrant can be measured by the decrease in usage of the old behaviour or feature. You might also track user feedback to gauge how well the new alternatives are being received and whether the transition has been effective. Keep an eye on spillovers into other similar yet unwanted behaviours.
3. Modify existing behaviours
Sometimes, a behaviour doesn’t need to be replaced—just improved. Take, for instance, streamlining a website’s checkout process to reduce steps and hassle. Small tweaks here can significantly enhance efficiency and user satisfaction.
What does 'modify' look like on a project?
What it involves:
With modify we make small changes to what’s already there to make it better. This quadrant is all about tweaking existing behaviours or features it improve them. It’s like tweaking a popular recipe to adapt to changes, people and more.
Key challenges with 'modify':
The challenge here lies in identifying which aspects of a behaviour or process need improvement without disrupting the overall user experience and behaviour ecosystem. Users might already be comfortable with the current way of doing things, so any changes need to be clearly beneficial to encourage adaptation.
Ever fallen out with a brand when they tweaked their recipes? It's that you need to avoid.
Main approaches:
With modify you have one focus:
Optimising
Your focus should be on improving efficiency, safety, or enjoyment. For example, if you're tweaking a social media platform's interface, you might streamline the steps to share a post or refine the privacy settings to make them more intuitive. The goal is to enhance the user's experience in ways that feel natural and helpful. And remember, we are using a behavioural lens. So look to optimise and support people's influence across all levels - at the individual, social and environmental.
Main Strategy:
Show consequences
To motivate users to embrace these modifications, it's crucial to demonstrate the immediate benefits of the changes. This might involve using side-by-side comparisons or short tutorials that highlight the improvements and how they make the user’s life easier.
Measuring 'modify' success:
Success in this quadrant can be tracked through user engagement metrics—like how often a feature is used after modification—and user feedback. Positive changes should see an increase in usage and satisfaction. Changes in frequency of use, complexity of actions and readiness to act should also be monitored.
4. Grow behaviours
Here our where the goal is to expand and reinforce the positive behaviours that are already showing promise. This quadrant is all about taking successful behaviours and amplifying their impact, whether by increasing their frequency, extending them to new user groups, or making them habitual in different contexts.
What does 'grow' look like on a project?
What it involves:
Imagine you’ve successfully started a community garden. Now, you want not only to maintain its success but also to see it thrive—maybe by getting more community members involved or by planting more types of vegetables. Similarly, in a product or service context, this quadrant focuses on taking existing successful behaviours and pushing them further to become more deeply rooted and widespread.
Key challenges with 'grow':
The main challenge is to keep the momentum going without letting the initial enthusiasm taper off. It’s about finding ways to keep everyone engaged and interested over the long term, making sure that the behaviour doesn’t just survive, but thrives.
Main approaches:
With modify you have two focuses:
Growing reach
Increasing intensity
Our focus here is to broaden the scope of successful behaviours. This might mean finding new contexts where the behaviour could be useful or introducing it to new user groups who could benefit from it. We also look at increasing the intensity of the behaviour—making it more frequent, more robust, or more integral to daily activities.
Main strategies:
Broaden impact and grow community.
Motivating users in this quadrant often involves showing them the broader impact of their actions and helping them see themselves as part of a larger community. For example, if a health tracking app has helped users achieve their personal fitness goals, the next step might be to create group challenges that encourage users to engage their friends and family, thus spreading the behaviour to new audiences.
Measuring 'grow' success:
We measure success here by looking at how behaviours spread and deepen over time. Are more people adopting the behaviour? Are users engaging with it more frequently and in more ways? Feedback and data on user engagement across different groups and settings can provide valuable insights into how well the behaviour is being sustained and grown. Think about the signals of change and where to find them. With grow, more than the others, you will need a monitoring strategy to make sure it's working and continues to work.
