Overview
This captivating project was the result of a harmonious team collaboration, where we combined our diverse talents and skills to bring this idea to life!
My Habit is a smart habit reminder integrated with Amazon Alexa. It aims to increase users wellbeing by helping them retain a daily routine, especially with health care using voice controlled AI technology in the consumers at-home environment.
Background
Holland & Barrett, a prominent UK retailer specializing in vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements, presented a "blue sky" project brief centered on leveraging voice-controlled AI technology within consumers' at-home environment. The brief sought to capitalize on the growing popularity of voice interfaces and explore ways to employ them in assisting customers to achieve a healthier and consequently happier lifestyle.
Company Priorities
Help customers stick to health plan
Add new dimension to customer experience
Assistance in discovering Holland & Barrett (H&B)
Improve users health & wellbeing
Project image of wellbeing authority
Research Question
How can we utilise AI technology in an at-home environment to improve consumers well-being?
Approach
The Design Council's 'Double Diamond' was employed as the project management methodology, divided into four distinct phases – Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. The Double Diamond represents a simple visual map of the design process.
Six research methods were chosen, ranging from service Safari, diary study, Behavior Map, Contextual Interviews, Service Comparison, and Shadowing. Each method was used to gain a qualitative and quantitative understanding of routine behaviors and attitudes.
Insights were generated from the research methods, employing the affinity diagram as a tool for analysis. The concepts were further analyzed using evaluative methods, such as the weight/rate matrix and Kano analysis, and the top concept was developed into the final one.
RESEARCH METHODS
Service Safari
Service Safari was employed to gain an in-depth understanding of the user's interactions with the website, app, and healthbox service. The research focused on user tasks, expectations, and emotions related to insomnia, vitamin deficiency, and healthy snacks.
Comparisons were made between in-store and online purchases, analyzing time spent, emotions, and difficulties encountered during different phases of the purchase process.
Users have specific routines that are followed almost religiously every morning. Body image is a key motivation for change in both male and female demographics - body image doesn't discriminate.
How others perceive the user highly influences their self-confidence. The gym is a key influencer for both physical fitness and psychological stress levels. Apps are a vital part of a user's mental perception for waking up and going to bed.
Findings and Insights
users feel older than they are by taking pills, as its an elderly task for the older generation
we could try changing the social stigma through behaviour change methods
a visual reminder is the best way to remind users of tasks
a bedroom environment is the best chance to succeed in forming habbits
the morning is the best time of day for reminders and habbit forming
users take vitamins to ‘feel young’
Diary Study
A diary study was utilized to comprehend the users' psychological process in forming habits over time. Participants maintained a diary, self-reporting their daily activities, thoughts, and feelings at regular intervals. The study aimed to uncover hidden aspects of user behavior and explore their subconscious actions. The insights obtained led to a change in research direction and offered a new perspective on users' psychological well-being. The study spanned seven days with two participants, using a seven-page diary with accompanying questionnaires. The synthesized information primarily facilitated idea generation and conceptualization.
Behaviour Mapping
Behavior mapping was employed to gain insights into users' spatial and cultural habits over time. The research tracked participants' daily routines from early morning until bedtime, using two types of mapping: Individual-Centered Mapping and Place-Centered Mapping.
Individual-Centered Mapping involved drawing a timeline of participants' tasks, along with the corresponding time and the psychological feelings/thoughts behind each action.
Place-Centered Mapping created a plan view of the participants' house, with the spatial tracking of their paths, pinpointing the most frequently used areas.
The main purpose of behavior mapping was to understand users' thought processes and feelings while completing tasks.
Individual-Centered Mapping
Place-Centered Mapping
Individual-centred Mapping
Findings and Insights
Insights
Placel-centred Mapping
The bathroom is the most frequently used location in a user's morning routine. Coffee plays a vital role in preparing the user's mind for the day's activities due to its quick-acting and effective properties. Visual reminders in key environments, such as the bedroom, make it easier for the user to remember tasks.
Users often take medication/vitamins along with coffee, as it relates directly to their consumption.
Body image doesn't discriminate based on genders.
How others perceive the user directly influences their physical self-confidence.
Apps are vital to a user's daily routine and play a key role in their psychological well-being.
Users rely on apps to track their well-being/health, which is important to them.
Women find period tracker apps like 'Flo' useful as they provide health advice, e.g., taking iron supplements.
Coffee plays a vital role in the morning routine, as consuming pills requires liquid consumption.
Findings and Insights
General
Participants consider H&B a well-known & reliable healthy food shop
Promotion is one of the factors that attracts them to buy a product
Health care products are not absolutely necessary for Gen Z
Some of them prefer buying online
Some of them prefer face-to-face consult when there are confusions
Convenient and consumer-friendly checkout and delivery processes
Searching for product
Not sure if they have those symptoms
Confused when there are many choices of the similar type of product in the same packaging
Confusion on same type of product with different properties (e.g. effective constituent / potency)
Product information is detailed
Participants read reviews before purchasing to determine whether the product is reliable
Website interface
Too much information on the homepage
Font size on the navigation bar is too small
The raw data was taken and implimented into a Journey Map. This is a persona of the users tasks and interactions which leads to achieving an end result which is then visually mapped out. Thought, feelings and emotions are drawn upon as well as phases of the users process.
A simple reminder
The Extension Concept
The Future
Outcome
A service was conceptualized to be useful to both H&B current customers and non-customers. Offering this free service allows anyone to benefit from it, enabling the brand to be experienced by a larger segment of the population.
My Habit is Divided into 3 Levels
A simple reminder
The extension concept
The Future