Role
User Research
Product Strategy
UI Design
Interaction Design
Usability Testing
Tools
Figjam
Notion
Figma
Otter
Timeline
4 weeks
What is Elvie Trainer
Elvie Trainer is a product that aims to help people with uteruses strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, which can help prevent issues related to weak bladder. The product comprises a kegel exerciser connected to a mobile app, which provides users with real-time feedback on their progress.
Frameworks
Behavioural Design
Design Thinking
Habit Forming Products
Why habits?
In order for Elvie Trainer to be effective, users need to use it regularly, ideally at least three times a week. Therefore, one of the key challenges of this project was to help users develop a habit of using the Elvie Trainer consistently. Our assumption was that helping users to build habits will increase customer retention and ensure that users continue to use the product over time.
Opportunity Tree
Research
During the research phase of this project, we interviewed several users of the Elvie Trainer to gain insight into their experience of using the product. As part of this research, we asked users about their exercise routines and whether they managed to use Elvie Trainer regularly.
Interestingly, three of the users we spoke to already had an established fitness routine that included kegel training, and they reported being able to use the Elvie Trainer regularly as part of this routine. These users gave us the impression of being fit and well-organized people who were accustomed to sticking to their exercise regimen.
"I exercise regularly, I have to… but I have always been fit. Elvie hasn't made a difference to help me exercise more."
Janine
The Ideal Self
Initially, we thought that building a habit of using the Elvie Trainer regularly might not be a significant issue for users. However, as I delved deeper into the data gathered from user interviews, I came across the behavioural concept of the "ideal self."
The "ideal self" concept from psychology and behavioural science posits that individuals tend to provide answers about their preferences and behaviours based on an idealized, aspirational, and socially acceptable version of themselves. This means that when people are asked about their habits or behaviours, they may respond with what they believe they should be doing or what they want to be doing rather than what they are currently doing.
Hypothesis
By recognizing that users' responses during interviews may have been influenced by their ideal self-concept, we assumed that a group of users may exist who do struggle with the habit of regular exercise.
Persona
Trish
Motivation:
Trish is highly motivated to do kegel exercises as she wants to prevent an organ prolapse that her mum suffered from. She values her pelvic floor health and wants to maintain her overall physical health and well-being.
Behaviour:
Trish's evening routine involves a decision between two competing activities: watching TV with a glass of wine or exercising with her Elvie Trainer. On average she ends up giving in to the temptation of her favourite shows over doing kegel exercises.
How might we help Trish?
We wanted to help user like Trish.
"How might we help users like Trish, who struggle with a habit of regular kegel exercise, develop a consistent habit of using the Elvie Trainer?"
Another problem with using Elvie
During the interviews, users shared a usability problem that confused them.
When reviewing their exercise session reports, users are presented with an exercise score that represents their performance. However, users have reported that they find it difficult to understand what this score represents and how it relates to their overall progress. Users said that they would like to be able to compare their scores with other users.
"I don't understand what it means"
" I would like to compare my score with other users."
"The score doesn't tell me how good or bad I'm doing."
User Journey
After mapping out a user journey we defined 2 types of problems that users are facing:
- Big Picture Problem: Users are struggling with building habits of regular kegel exercise using Elvie.
- Current Usability Problem: During the "report review" phase of the journey, users have difficulty understanding their exercise score and want an option to compare their results with other users.
Ideation
In order to achieve the business goal of helping users to develop a habit of regular kegel exercise with Elvie Trainer, we began by researching how other industries have successfully aided their users in building habits.
Social comparison nudge
A company called Opower successfully influenced its users to build a habit of saving energy by incorporating a social comparison nudge into the design of their energy bill.
An example of social nudge implementation: Opower bill
Customers get to see their current energy consumption compared to their efficient neighbours and the average energy usage in their area.
User's score is described with verbal clues and emojis.
Social comparison nudge
Social comparison nudge is a behavioural science technique that involves comparing an individual's behaviour or performance to that of others. This can incentivize the individual to take a particular action or improve their performance based on the desire to conform to social norms or expectations
Priortisation
By understanding how Opower successfully incorporated this nudge, we wanted to test similar principles in our Elvie Trainer app to encourage users to build a habit of regular kegel exercise.
The challenge was to determine the effectiveness of incorporating social comparison nudge as a habit-building feature in a digital product and to identify whether it can be applied to a different product category.
Crazy 8
We brainstormed ideas for visualisation of data comparison inside the report.
Solution
Wireframes
We sketched potentail ideas for the report.
Iteration no.1: Progress report with a social comparison nudge
In this scenario, the user's kegel exercise score is below the average score and recommended daily target.
On the report page, the user is presented with a comparison of their current pelvic floor score with the average score of other users. Additionally, the target score that the user should aim for is also displayed.
User's feedback
Users didn't understand the report.
"I'm confused. I don't know what I'm looking at"
Iteration no.2
Due to users' difficulty in understanding the initial version of the report, we made an improvement by adding an additional element, inspired by the Opower design. We included a box in the report page to further clarify the information provided
The box contains verbal clues and emojis that provide additional information about the pelvic floor score, making it more understandable for the user.
User Testing
We presented the second iteration of the report to Elvie users and gathered feedback on its potential effectiveness in improving their understanding of their pelvic floor score and exercise progress as well as increasing motivation to exercise.
User's feedback
The usability testing conducted on the second iteration of the Elvie report was overall positive. Users reported that the report was clear and easy to understand, helping them to understand if they were making progress in their pelvic floor exercise routine.
Additionally, users expressed feeling more motivated to exercise after reviewing the report, indicating that the design changes made to the report could be successful in incentivizing users to continue their exercise routine.
"I like that it's accessible. I understand that I need to do better.
It's motivating."
What about users who don't struggle with the habit?
In scenario no.2 user's pelvic score is good. It falls above the score of other users and it's closer to the recommended target.
Incorporating social comparison nudge into the design of the report could potentially also benefit users who are already doing well with their kegel exercises by providing positive reinforcement and encouraging them to continue their good habits. Opower's testing has shown that users who were already performing well and were presented with a social comparison nudge continued with the recommended behaviour for longer compared to users who were not exposed to it.
Roadmap
The goal of incorporating a social comparison nudge in the Elvie trainer is to help users build a habit of regular kegel exercise which is crucial for customer retention. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the feature has a positive impact on user behaviour in the long term. While it is encouraging to hear that users felt more motivated to exercise after seeing the report, it is necessary to test the feature over a period of time to see if it leads to sustained behaviour change. This will help Elvie to evaluate the effectiveness of the feature and make any necessary changes to improve its impact on user behaviour.
Testing Proposal
The testing proposal for the social comparison nudge feature in the Elvie trainer will involve A/B testing over a period of three months. The goal of the test is to observe users who have been exposed to the nudge for three months and measure their behaviour in terms of the number of workouts they complete per month and per week. This will help to determine if the feature has a positive impact on user behaviour over an extended period of time.
At the end of the three-month period, the data from both groups will be analyzed to determine if there is a significant difference in the number of workouts completed per month and per week between the control group and the test group.
Key Learnings
1. Confirmation of the concept of "ideal self".
At the start of the project, we operated under the assumption that users would provide information about their exercise habits based on an idealized version of themselves.
During an interview with Janine, a pilates teacher, at the project's inception, she assured me that due to the disciplined nature of her work, she had no issues with kegel exercise. However, when I checked in with her months later, she had clearly forgotten our previous conversation and surprisingly disclosed that she had not used her Elvie in many months. I received similar feedback from other users who had ceased exercising due to life events like surgeries.
" Ironically I've not been using it in the last few months…
You've actually reminded me."
This highlights the importance of understanding users' true behaviours and motivations when it comes to exercising regularly. It also emphasizes the need to address barriers that may prevent users from sticking to a routine, such as life events or other external factors.
2. Ask more explorative questions
During the interviews we asked questions that were too close ended like:
"Do you have a problem with exercising on regular basis?" to which customers have simply answered "no".
Closed-ended questions can limit the information that is gathered and may not provide a complete picture of the user's behaviour or experience. In future interviews, I will consider using more exploratory questions that encourage users to describe their experiences and challenges in more detail.
Conclusion
We made the assumption that Elvie users were struggling with building a habit of kegel exercises, despite their claims of having no issues with it. We were pleased when users confirmed our assumption and showed potential for the comparison nudge to motivate them to build a habit. However, in the future, I would hope to ground our hypotheses in rigorous research and cultivate an ongoing relationship with users to gain ongoing learning and insights for the development of the product.