Heuristics for selecting and using behavioural design methods.

Abstract

Design for behaviour change is a young and developing practice grounded in the belief that using insights from the behavioural sciences leads to more effective interventions for behaviour change. Although a wide range of tools, techniques and methods exist to support this, few are well introduced in terms of their underlying values or paradigm for understanding behaviour. As a result, designers are often limitedly aware of why and how methods fit their personal beliefs and way of working. This not only obstructs professional development; it decreases the effectiveness and efficiency of behavioural design. In this paper we present an initial set of heuristics for designers to anticipate the appropriateness of a method, given the task at hand and their preferred way of working. These heuristics have been developed through an analysis and comparison of nine behavioural design methods. We conclude with discussing their potential in framing and staging behavioural design methods and studying method usage.