What is Behavioural design?
The design of products, systems, and social environments inhibit, enable or facilitate behaviour. As a sub-field of design, behavioural design, places behaviour at the centred of the design process to systematically influence it. It draws upon insights from behavioural science and economics, cognitive and social psychology, neuroscience and and motivation science. Behavioral design is a shortcut that helps us anticipate problems and design solutions by explaining what people are actually likely to do rather than relying solely of what they say. One of the fundamental ideas behind the need to have the word "behavioural" before "design", is that people behave less rationally than traditional economics assumes. Being human means being flawed.
Why another toolkit?
The Make it toolkit was created to close some gaps identified in current models. Some models are industry specific. For example, tools developed specifically to inform policy or health-related interventions are not well-suited to help design user experiences in the digital space. Other models and tools only refer to one or a few behavioural aspects. For example, gamification frameworks developed to design fun and engaging experiences place emphasis on our motivational drives and do not consider other crucial behavioural components.
What do you mean by “techniques”?
Techniques are specific tactics to help designers brainstorm ideas (e.g. features and copy). Techniques have also been categorised into “patterns” to highlight the different kind of approaches. One of them is nudges. A nudge is a small intervention that leverages automatic decision-making processes, meant to affect behaviour without changing the monetary incentives and without restricting anyone’s choice. While the term nudging is often used interchangeably with behavioural design, in reality, it is only one particular type of application of insights from behavioural economics. Others are incentives, boosts, rational overrides, game techniques, behaviour change techniques (BCTs), and dark patterns.
Is this the "ultimate" toolkit?
Before publishing the current version, the toolkit has been tested in several real-life projects and with over 2000 learners (including university students, entrepreneurs, CEOs) - and went through numerous iterations. Although the core will likely not change, it will be updated periodically as the field of behavioural science matures and new insights emerge.
I work at an educational institution. Is this for me?
Absolutely yes! The Make it toolkit has been adopted by Thammasat University, one of the leading universities in Thailand as the official framework to empower professionals with behavioural design and gamification skills. It has also be introduced at ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design & Engineering as part of the Master's Degree in Research for Design and Innovation. If you wish to create or revamp a program with the latest insights in behaviour design, you are free to use it with your students. Should you need any support, do not hesitate to get in touch.
I work in the public sector. Is this for me?
Yes! We all know we live in challenging times. Threats such us climate change and COVID-19 have shown that technological advances alone will not be enough. If we want to change the world, we need to change behaviour, at scale. Governments across all continents have taken the important step of establishing specialised behavioural science units. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General recently said:
I work in the private sector. Is this for me?
Any brand can benefit from behavioural design and gamification. Leading companies such as Uber, Shopee, Google, Grab, Duolingo have dedicated teams that rely on behavioural science to solve problems and create value. Common challenges include navigating digital transformation processes and creating more meaningful relationships with customers and employees. We predict that the next generation of digital product designers will need to better integrate psychology into the design process - beyond usability. For example, the make it toolkit is currently being used to support Agoda identify and hire talented UX/UI designers in Thailand. Read more about how we empowered Agoda. here.
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