Anlene Move
An behavior change app research for women to form habits that last
Overview
This is an research project for the app launch. Within 2 months, I worked closely with globle UX team on UX testing and diary research to discover the immediate usability problems as well as the app effectiveness in habit formation. The final delivery is the research findings and recommendations that were directly translated to features optimization and new interface concepts for future designs.
Client Fonterra Singapore Role UX Researcher
Time 2 months (2015) Tool Diary test, usability testing
Team Ogilvy Singapore UX Team
What’s Anlene Move
An app that designed for women to prevent bone loss by forming healthy habits
Combined behavioral psychology and technology, Anlene Move allows users to set their exercising and diary drinking goals based on users’ lifestyle and preferences. Users can track and share personal progress updates, learn nutritional tips and recipes, enjoy rewards when goals are achieved.
Challenge
How might we evaluate the effectiveness of Anlene Move in habit formation?
Before the app launch, we want to get better understanding on the app effectiveness in habit formation to make sure we deliver the solution at its best form when app launches.
Key research questions and areas:
1. The effectiveness in usability
- Are interactions and interfaces easy and enjoyable to use? Can users accomplish tasks efficiently?
- Identify needs and opportunities to inform the product design strategy.
2. The effectiveness in behavior change design
- Can users form habits successfully after using a period of time? What’s the success rate?- What are notable behaviors, preferences, barriers and technologies that impact continued usage?
Methodology
A Hybrid methods to assess the app effectiveness
A hybrid user research methodology allows us to improve the overall product functionality in habit formation. We used usability testing to assess the interface issues and diary study to identify the behavioral change beyond the app.
Discovery
Usability Testing
The usability testings helps us to identify immediate interface problems that need to fix before the launch. By using think-out-loud method, participants are requested to narrate all their actions and thoughts while going through the prototype.
1. Identify the User Type
We first sampled 50 users that resemble common user types. Some of the identified high level user profiles are:
Young professionals who have never/ rarely drink Anlene Milk.
Middle age or Families that have one or more drinking Anlene Milk.
Seniors that drink Anlene.
Why is this important?
It ensures the deisgn is accessble for every targeted group
2. Tested on Major User Tasks
We divided app user flow into 8 major tasks. Each participants was given 8 app tasks to carry out on the prototype.
Why is this important:
It ensures main functionality of the app are tested
3. Get in-depth insight with short interviews
After usability testing, each participants will be interviewed to validate the fours aspects of the app:
User's perception to design look and feel
Whether the users understand the purpose of the page and visual cues.
User's preferred method of tasks, the sequence of task (not to skip certain tasks), and task conversion (success of tasks).
Recognize the top barriers to reaching the tasks
Why is this important?
The follow-up interview allow us to know more about user's overall usage and aesthetics
Design Impact
The usability testing shows users think the overall UI is intuitive; however, the testing also detected some pain points. We prioritized the problematic areas as 4 severity levels and fixed the most severe ones prior the launch.
Design Change 1
Dashboard & Goal logging
Finding:
The log goal swipe at the dashboard page is too draggy for senior users. They don't know how to log their move goal with the icon.
Senior users tend to neglect the content below screen one.
Solution:
Add a "tutorial overlay" for first-time users or senior users to learn how to use the app.
Provide a visual cue of "scrolling down " to indicate that there is more content on the page.
Design Change 2
Move Goal Setting
Finding:
Some users are engaging in more than one type of exercise, but the app only allows them to log one type per day.
Solution:
Enable users to select multiple exercise tiles.
Allow users to set time and duration for each selected exercise.
Design Change 3
Collect and Redeem Points
Finding:
Users are unclear about what the points are for, its relative value, and why they are important. Knowing these up front will encourage more engagement with the App.
Solution:
Build a stronger linkage between the Thank You page and the Loyalty Points page
Converting "points" to a more end-benefit "calorie burnt" metric and redeemable for users.
Discover
Diary Study
While usability testing discovers interface problems and experience of the app, the diary study provides a comprehensive picture of the experience beyond the app.
Process
Diary Journaling
All participants are requested to call the voicemail of Anlene daily and report back according to the given script questions for 21 days. With the self-reporting voicemails, we are able to learn user's daily routines, whether user achieve their drinking and moving goals, understand the number of success cases in the habit formation program and the users obstacles of achieving goals.
Key Research Questions :
1. Did you visit Anele Move today?
- If yes, at what times did you visit the app today? What was the situation?
- If no, are there any particular reasons?
2. What were you trying to achieve?
- Describe your daily drink/move goal?
3. Were you able to achieve your Move/Drink goal?
- What were the barriers?
Diary Study Result
“56% of users form the habit with Anlene Move App within a month. ”
Insights of healthy habit formation
Result shows that 28 users have successfully built healthy habits in 3 weeks and feel more positive. Through tracking and analyzed the voice mail, I discovered the motivation, retention, and incentives changes for maintaining healthy habit. I made design suggestions to enhance behavior change in each user stage.
Stage 1: Exploration
Insight:
Users started out motivated and disciplined; However, many tend to adjust their goals on a daily basis as the encounter arrivers to achieving movement goals.
Design Decision:
Provide flexibility on goal editing and logging.
Stage 2: Inspiration
Insight:
Motivation dropping down, users require more inspirations and motivations to continue the program, or they will easily quit out due to barriers
Design Decision:
Use the daily fresh-new inspirational content, intense alarming features, and rewards as motivations for users.
Stage 3: Success
Insight:
Users have built on a new healthier lifestyle. Users are much more motivated when they know the full purpose of the App, such as the end benefit of overall health improvement
Design Decision:
Provide a credible voice/tone, and communicate the rationale of completing the drinking and exercise goals, tell positive stories in order to make sure users understand the value of the app.
Recommendations
1. Flexible goals settings to cater different circumstances
Many users are adjusting their move goals throughout the week to account for weekends, when they may not have the chance to complete their move goals due to different circumstances (e.g. no stairs at home). External factors like weather, work, health conditions and unpredicted family needs are the most common barriers for users to complete their goals. For some busy users, they also expect the “go back” function and retroactively log goals for previous days.
2. Users prefer the App to refresh its counting on a daily basis
A weekly-accumulation counting system makes it hard for them to keep track of their daily progress, and give a less sense of achievement. Users also expect a weekly review of their workout and drinking history.
3. Email and app reminder function are very helpful to users
External factors like weather, work, health conditions, and unpredicted family needs are the most common barriers for users to complete their goals. Users are appreciate having formal reminder/alarm system to let them know if they have not achieved their goals yet.
Learnings
1. Design for Accessibility
Having usability testing with seniors remind me that designers are often tech-savvy and lured by attractive, trendy and out of the box designs. But, we always need to consider those who are not tech-savvy when design. Use familiar interaction for the buttons, or label the button what to do will make the seniors/non-tech-savvy more clear on how to use the app is equally important.
2. Design to improve user's self-efficacy
Through diary study, some users quits because they feel their are making a little progress, or the goal is hard to achieve. According to Bandura’s research (Bandura 1997, Social learning theory), self-efficacy affects the success of behavior formation. Break down Big goals to small goals, provide Instant feedback for achieving every small goal will increase user's self-confident in forming and adhering to the healthy habits.