Designing for Action Opower’s 5 principles

Deena Rosen Director of User Experience, Opower Action Design DC Meetup, May 14th, 2013

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Agenda » Who is Opower?

»  5 Design Principles

» Next steps for you

» Q&A

Action Design + Opower

Opower’s mission: Motivate everyone on earth to use less energy

US $250 million saved

That’s equal to:

Powering the NY subway for a year

How we do it » Government & utility industry regulations

» Data-driven insights

» Behavioral science

» User-centered design

Opower’s 5 Design Principles

9 15 May 2013

Quick note on design principles » Should combine best design practices + your unique design challenges

» Should be actionable •  Help you make decisions

Why?

We should be experts in the science of human behavior if we’re trying to change it.

Principle #1

Largest behavioral science experiment in the world!

Social proof

We will do things we see other people doing. Especially if those people are similar to us.

Behavioral levers »  Social proof

»  Commitments

»  Loss aversion

»  Defaults/choice architecture

»  Priming

»  Collection/completion

Commitments

If we commit to an idea, we are more likely to honor it, because it becomes congruent with our self image.

Action we want people to take:

complete energy efficient actions

Case study: tips

» Social proof

» Commitments

Why?

People need to be compelled to take action.

Principle #2

Action we want people to take:

complete our online questionnaire

Case study: Energy audit

» Delighters

» Completion

Why?

People will be more likely to complete an action if they can easily take the first step.

Principle #3

Action we want people to take:

remember to adjust their thermostat when they leave the house

What are the barriers?

» Education

» Motivation

» Memory

Case study: adjusting thermostat

» Anticipate barriers

» Show one clear message

Why?

Behavior change takes time.

Principle #4

Action we *don’t* want people to take:

opt-out of our program

Case study: in-app feedback

»  Enable a two-way conversation

Why?

A large impact necessitates broad reach, not just action from a few.

Principle #5

Wants to “win” the thrifty game: saves as much as possible

She’s a “!-for” girl: uses her entertainment-savings book to get deals for her and her friends, even though she’s relatively well-off financially

Hates being taken advantage of: still remembers a time she mailed back a rebate form but never got her rebate check

Interested in learning more, and takes advice from anyone “with technical authority”

Called utility about an unusally high winter bill ($400) and trusted the utility’s explanation that she was using her heater incorrectly (even though she has been using it same way for 12 years)

Challenging herself to use less is part of life—Joyce learned that her cousin sets his thermostat to 6" in winter and “if he can do it, I can do it”

In complete control over household behaviors but doesn’t have the money to make large investments, such as replacing windows

Joyce “Hobby Saver” Joyce is a mostly-retired lawyer who works a few hours a week from her small !-bedroom house in the suburbs. Joyce, 62, shares her 40 year-old home with her dog, and they are making do with old windows and insulation.

“I live like an Eskimo in the winter — my nose is often cold.”

No concern Loves to save

Saving money as part of identity

Non-believer Environmentalist

Saving energy as part of identity

Sponge Skeptic

Openness to new knowledge

Comfort-focused Will sacrifice

Willingness to take action

Channels to receive knowledge

Paper High-tech

High barriers In-control

Ability to take action

Be careful of sending Joyce a negative rating, as this wouldn’t feel credible to her

Behavioral tips or low-medium cost investment tips would resonate most with Joyce

Let her share her pride: would be a good candidate to get testimonials from

Keep Joyce engaged by giving her something to strive for; she'd be up for some healthy competition

Designing for Joyce

Joyce's Report

Behaviors

Report rating:

Knowledge

Taking action

Motivation

How she thinks she's doing:

Religiously adjusts her thermostat, and will turn off central heat, wear sweaters, and carry around space heater in the winter to avoid heating the whole house

Couldn’t afford to install new windows, but installed a celing fan

Calls utility when there’s a problem, pays bill with checkbook

Loves the reports, is very proud to see her behavior rewarded

Great

Great

“This is great information, everyone should get this.”

User personas

Understanding channels: not one-size-fits-all

5 Principles

Takeaways for Action Designers

For your todo list

Audit your problem space When are you asking users to take action? How can you apply science at each action point?

Learn the science What tools are at your disposal? Become fluent in them. Take an online class with your coworkers. Have a bookclub.

Create your own principles What makes your design challenge unique? What do you want to ensure you’re keeping in mind?

And one last thing

Your next step right now: »  Choose 1 idea to take back to your company, and 1

person to share it with. Commit: when will you share it?

Thank you! opower.com/designprinciples

Appendix: Design principle tactics

Tactics:

»  Elicit emotions

»  Hide demotivating context (eg- small $ amounts)

»  Rely on empirical evidence, not self-reported preferences

»  Make the preferred option the default

»  Prime before key decisions

Tactics:

» Always pair data with insight

» Expose personalization

» Don’t make people work to understand

» Use familiar mental models

Tactics:

» Anticipate and eliminate barriers

» Offer realistic goals

» Ensure one clear message

Tactics:

» Don’t burn bridges

» Ensure experiences adapt over time

» Encourage users to share their thoughts

» Make users feel in control

Tactics:

» Check designs against personas

» Keep it simple, but provide deeper level for engaged users

» Understand user’s existing relationship with utility