Driving lasting behavior change through design

Company
Pivot (formerly Carrot)

Startup - B2B, B2

Health tech

My Role
Design Lead, [UI, UX & Research]

Year
2021

Project duration
7 months (design to launch)

Impact
In-app quit reports (primary goal of project) increased by 28%. Community interactions among users increased by 10x.

Context & Background

What’s Pivot ?

Pivot is a healthtech startup primarily targeting the employee benefits market. Offering a personalized tobacco cessation program, Pivot helps employers improve employee health and well-being. By combining a medical device that tracks smoking habits with tools and coaching, Pivot empowers individuals to quit tobacco use effectively.

What are we solving for?

Given Pivot's revenue model, increasing quit attempts and reported successes is crucial. The challenging nature of quitting addiction highlights the need for effective strategies to motivate users and track progress. By implementing targeted interventions, Pivot can enhance user engagement and ultimately drive positive health outcomes.

Problem space

Pivot faces a challenge in motivating users to consistently report their quit attempts and successes, particularly within the crucial 30-day window after quitting. The nebulous nature of quitting addiction and the potential for relapse can lead to decreased engagement and fewer reported outcomes within this critical timeframe, ultimately impacting Pivot's revenue.

How do we deliver the most value quickly?

Due to the tight development timeline of less than seven months, we prioritized rapid iteration. Leveraging our coaches' deep understanding of user needs, we conducted user interviews to gather key insights.

INSIGHT 1

Quitting is a journey, not a destination. Many individuals require multiple attempts to successfully quit smoking.

INSIGHT 2

Stigma surrounding quitting can hinder open conversations. Fear of relapse often prevents individuals from discussing their attempts with loved ones.

INSIGHT 3

Anxiety and a sense of isolation can hinder successful quitting. The inability to discuss struggles with others can exacerbate challenges and make it more difficult to maintain abstinence.

So what do we want to focus on?

  • How can we foster a sense of partnership and support throughout the quitting process?

  • What strategies can we employ to motivate current users to actively work towards their quit goals?

  • How can we maintain user engagement and provide ongoing value to those who have successfully quit, particularly within the critical 30-day period?

What did we build?

Based on our insights, we focused on enhancing the in-app community. To create a supportive space for users, we redesigned the community to be inclusive and safe. Additionally, we implemented a celebration system to recognize users at various stages of their quitting journey, emphasizing that the process is ongoing.

Redesigning community

Pivot's community previously lacked a user-friendly interface. The linear feed format, organized by post creation time rather than engagement, made it difficult to find relevant discussions or distinguish between different types of content. This hindered user interaction and engagement.

Celebrations framework

To enhance user engagement and motivation, we implemented a celebration system within Pivot's redesigned community. By identifying key milestones in the quitting journey and aligning them with in-app events, we aimed to foster a sense of partnership and encourage ongoing progress.

Each milestone achieved triggered a personalized celebration, complete with custom GIFs, designed to be shared within the community. This approach provided positive reinforcement and encouraged users to continue their journey towards successful quitting.

Pivot offers users multiple ways to report their quit date:

  • In-app: Setting the quit date triggers a Day 1 celebration.

  • Breath Sensor: Sampling within the green threshold confirms the quit and activates the celebration.

To incentivize post-quit sampling and provide accountability, we introduced a verified badge system. Users who successfully sample in the green zone receive a badge for that day which fades over the week prompting frequent sampling. Relapse detection triggers recommendations and coach alerts to support users on their journey.

  • Upon quitting, users receive a celebration that displays their number of days quit and encourages them to earn a quit stamp by taking a breath sample.

  • A modal window appears with a GIF explaining how users can earn a quit stamp by taking a breath sample.

  • After quitting, the home screen updates with a celebratory background and displays a quit widget, encouraging users to take a breath sample if they haven't already.

  • Upon successfully sampling green after quitting, users receive a stamp verifying their tobacco-free status for that day.

  • The quit widget on the home screen updates to display the user's current daily badge status.

  • The badge fades over six days unless the user samples green again to refresh it. This encourages more frequent sampling and helps maintain a current "verified badge" status.

Impact

The celebration framework has significantly impacted Pivot's success, leading to a 28% increase in in-app quit reports. Collaborating with benefit providers to offer additional incentives, such as points or prizes, could further boost user engagement and improve quit rates. Overall this project increased community interactions by 10x in the months post release of post-quit framework. The pre-quit framework was still being built during my time with Pivot.