Designing for Behavior Change

Chapter 15. Common Questions and a Start-to-Finish Example

An Example of the Approach

The method described here comes from our practical experiences at HelloWallet and from the inspiration we’ve gained talking with other companies in the field. Throughout this book, there are examples of particular companies that we’ve learned from and how they, and we, have applied this approach. But there hasn’t been an opportunity to analyze a single, start-to-finish scenario. Let’s do that here.

For this scenario, let’s move past the standard examples used in this book of exercise trackers, personal finance apps, and such, and show how the approach can be used in a novel context—working with contractors on your home.^[155] Not all behavior change is sexy and socially important. In fact, as I mentioned in the Preface, mundane changes in everyday life are the most numerous, but the least obvious, targets for behavior change. So without further ado, here’s the scenario:

Jake has a software company that develops apps for building contractors, helping workers with a range of tasks, from avoiding injury to making efficient use of building materials.^[156] One day, some of his clients approach him and want him to develop a new application that will improve the quality of their work, decreasing the rate and severity of errors on the job site. Most errors are caused by people making careless mistakes, so Jake recognizes that the success or failure of this new application will depend on helping contractors ...