Behaviour Change Projects

We are all in the business of behaviour change - marketers want consumers to switch from their competitor products to their own, financial advisors encourage clients to start saving for retirement, doctors want patients to eat healthy and exercise more, and governments want companies and individuals to use less plastic and choose more eco-friendly options.

But it’s not easy because people are not robots - we are unmotivated, impulsive, get confused, procrastinate, and often get emotional. Behaviour change challenges happen because companies often design products and services without considering how real humans behave.

At BEAR, I worked with government and industry partners and academic researchers on a variety of projects tackling behaviour change challenges from a behavioural lens.

In these projects, I got involved in all phases of the research process - from defining behavioural issues to testing design solutions. Below is the research process of a typical behaviour change project:

For each phase, I helped identify what research methodologies to use - whether quantitative or qualitative - based on research goals and needs.

For example, for landscape analysis, I suggested conducting literature reviews to find any existing findings relevant to the research subjects. I also suggested conducting in-depth interviews with end-users and subject matter experts, and focus groups/roundtables or even surveys to understand the context and get insights into the key actors, places, relationships etc.

When identifying bottlenecks and designing behavioural interventions, I suggested using behavioural principles and frameworks from the rich literature in behavioural science.

For user journey maps, I suggested mapping user journeys with social context, level of motivation, and associated emotions.

For testing, I suggested qualitative usability testing or quantitative randomized controlled testing depending on the research goals, budget and resources.