Guiding the way to living greener: how psychology

helped IA for a new government website

Oz IA 2009 | Ben Crothers, PTG Global

Outline• The brief for designing

livinggreener.gov.au• What we didn't do, and why• What we did do• How psychology principles

contributed to the interaction concept, IA and UI

About me• I am a

user experience designer/information architect

• I really enjoyonline brand/everything 2.0/painting

• Work: PTG Global as a senior consultant• Blog: catchmedia.com.au• Twitter: @bencrothers

The brief

• Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) directed PTG to design personas, IA and user interfaces for a new government website: livinggreener.gov.au

• ‘A portal’ linking to lots of other websites

• Not another ‘government website’

• Other contractors: research and requirements, concept, visual design

The purpose

• Provide information, assistance and advice for energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, and personal transport

• Provide better ways to access government assistance, and how to apply for assistance

• Encourage and mobilise people to live more sustainably

We could have done this...

• We could have structured all the information just in terms of topics:– Energy– Water– Waste – Transport

IA the City Slickers wayBarry can pick out the exact right flavor of ice cream to follow any meal. Go ahead. Challenge him.

Challenge him?

Go on. Franks and beans.

Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla. Don't waste my time. Come on. Push me.

Grilled?

I’m with you.

Sea bass.

Sautéed.

Potatoes au gratin. Asparagus.

Rum raisin.

WOOF!

...but we didn’t.

• ‘Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla’ wasn’t going to cut it

• The ‘topic silos’ approach works if all we wanted was a ‘library’ model, but this wouldn't meet the needs to:– Not just educate, but motivate and mobilise– Provide better ways to access government

assistance, and how to apply for that assistance

People are not use cases• We don’t start and end with

one task, e.g. one Google query of ‘save money on energy bills’“Users are not monolithic or straightforward, but are complex and fragmented in nature” (Mackay et al, Reconfiguring the User)

Reference: Mackay et al, Reconfiguring the User: Using Rapid Application Development, Social Studies of Science (2000)

Designing for real people• Use cases are important, and define all

the tasks and roles required• Workflows are important, and connect

the tasks with the interface• But the motivations and situations of

people doing the tasks can be left behind• Design has to account for the whole

person• Personas to the rescue...

Personas - summary

Motivations and commitment 1. Helen 2. Alison 3. Ryan 4. David 5. Enso‘Protecting current and future health and wellbeing’‘Saving energy and water’‘Great energy and water efficiency’‘Living more frugally’‘Saving money on energy and water’‘Living more sustainably’‘Reducing environmental impact’‘Living greener’‘Saving the planet’‘Lowering carbon footprint’

Personas – detail

• Age: 43, home-owner• Occupation: Mum, part-time

bookshop assistant• Attitudes: Protecting current and

future health and wellbeing; a bit of extra cost is worth it

• Commitment: High; don’t let her see you put recyclable waste in the wrong rubbish bin

• Motivation: Saving resources; needs to feel her actions and influence on others count

Helen CliffordCOMMITTED GREENIE

Personas – detail

• Age: 52, home owner• Occupation: Product Manager• Attitudes: Living frugally and

cutting the cost of bills; worried about the rising costs of food, petrol, water and rates

• Commitment: Low; too busy to care that much, and any concern is offset by cynicism

• Motivation: security and convenience

Enso MorettiNON-GREEN METRO

Designing with motivational psychology• We were interested in what the

research data revealed about:– Participant’s motivations– Participant’s attitudes – The events that trigger responses to

do something about the environment– Positive and negative influences on

behaviour• ...as well the situations they are in

(home, shopping, driving, working)

• Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs helps to illustrate where different motivations spring from

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow

Motivations and decisions

• It also helps us to locate personas and their motivations, and design for them accordingly

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow

Designing for people where they are at

Why is this important for IA?

• People are motivated by different factors, and will behave differently

• Our goal is to change people’s behaviour

• Content strategy, navigation and UI need to:– Connect with them and their

motivations– Encourage them through the task– Not get in the way, or discourage

How IA can affect behaviour change

Event

Motivation

for solution

Positive influences

Negative influences

No action

Action

Attitudes

TRIGGERSDECISION TO BE MADE

AT WEBSITE

POSITIVE REINFORCEME

NT

Example: Enso and insulationEvent: insulation

rebate

Motivation

for solution

Positive influences

Negative influences

No action

Action

Attitudes: Worried about costs; keep it

simple; cynical

TRIGGERS

POSITIVE REINFORCEME

NT

1. Facts, figures and calculators

2. Smaller-scale changes can save money

1. Use calculators on the website to see how insulation saves money

2. Read about – and commit to – smaller-scale behaviour changes

3. Use the website to apply for the rebate

1. Too expensive2. Doesn’t trust

the government

Example: IA considerationsEvent: insulation

rebate

Motivation

for solution

Positive influences

Negative influences

No action

Action

Attitudes: Saving

resources for the future;

ambassador

TRIGGERS

POSITIVE REINFORCEME

NT

• Short, simple facts and chunking of information

• Calculators (that work)• Clear labelling for applying for the rebate• Clear labelling for smaller-scale behaviours• Provide ways of encouraging bigger steps

of change after smaller steps

Leading people on a journey

• Capture people at the point of need...– Based on a Google search inquiry– Expressed in familiar language– Acknowledging effort already made

• … and guide them through to more activity– Similar activities across other topics– Larger-scale activities with incentives

Interaction model: the ‘concierge’• Providing easy immediate access

to requested information• Putting it in overall context of

living ‘greener’• Offering alternative actions to

take• Trading off the ways that we can be

influenced and persuaded• Focusing on knowing what

to do first, then doing it

The proposed IA schema

Home

At home In the garden Shopping Travel

News Be informed Take action Rebates, grants & loans

News stories

Campaigns

News archive

Saving energy

Saving water

Save energy

Save water

Home owners

Renters and landlords

About this portal

Contact us

Search results

Accessibility

- Separate news stories

- Separate campaign pages

-Articles-Links directory pages

-Articles-Links directory pages

-Step-by-step guides-Hints and tips-What you can do today-Step-by-step guides-Hints and tips-What you can do today

-Rebates, loans and grants by topic

-Rebates, loans and grants by topic

Content aggregation page

Primary navigation page Secondary navigation page

Reducing waste-Articles-Links directory pagesSmarter transport-Articles-Links directory pages

Reduce waste-Step-by-step guides-Hints and tips-What you can do todayTravel smarter-Step-by-step guides-Hints and tips-What you can do today

Schools-Rebates, loans and grants by topic

The proposed IA schemaAt home In the

garden Shopping Travel

• Alternate home pages, or content aggregation pages, tailored to specific audiences and situations

• Exposing the most relevant cross-section of content for each audience

User interface design

• Initial low-fidelity concept sketching to field ideas with the client...

• The refined...

User interface design

Visual design

In closing...

• Design for people, not just use cases; take a holistic approach

• Your personas are your partners; use them to explore the motivations behind behaviours, and cater for those motivations

• A ‘concierge’ journey-based model can make content more integrated and compelling

Thank you

• Ben CrothersSenior consultantPTG Global

Live greener: livinggreener.gov.au

• Blog: catchmedia.com.au• Twitter: @bencrothers

Thank you