Motivating Healthier Habits Through Research-Driven Design
Motivating Healthier Habits Through Research-Driven Design
Project Overview
Redesigned a corporate wellness program as a UX Research Intern at Cigna, to better engage 500K+ employees in health and wellness initiatives, boosting participation rates by 40%.
Problem
Existing wellness programs lacked personalization, engagement, and inclusivity. Many customers were either unaware of the programs or not motivated to use them, and current tools failed to address different health journeys effectively.
Solution
We conducted foundational user research to identify key motivators for forming healthy habits. The insights informed a redesign centered on personalization, gamification, community support, and real-time feedback through wearables.
Team
- 1 UX Researcher (me)
My Contributions
- Designed and distributed user survey to diverse participants
- Analyzed responses to identify patterns and user motivations
- Documented process and created assets for stakeholder handoff
Tools
- Figma
- Miro
- Confluence
- Google Forms
Timeline
- Survey Design & Distribution: 2 weeks
- Participant Recruitment: 1 week
- Data Analysis & Synthesis: 2 weeks
Design Process
Framing the Research
Defined research goals, wrote research questions, and outlined participant criteria
Survey Design
Created and distributed a survey to capture a wide range of user experiences with wellness programs
Participant Recruitment
Targeted users across various ages, health levels, and wearable usage habits
Data Analysis
Synthesized data into key insights around motivators, needs, and pain points
Feature Recommendations
Developed a prioritized list of features for the redesign
Research
Methods
- User survey with diverse participant pool
- Competitor analysis based on reviews and feature evaluations
- Shadowing research sessions to refine observational skills
Key Insights
- Personalized feedback increases long-term engagement
- Gamification and social support motivate healthy behaviors
- Wearable integration adds accountability and real-time tracking
Research Artifacts
Competitor research
Structure of the wellness survey used to gather user input
Outcomes
- Challenges: Conducting user research with a large, diverse participant pool was complex, requiring careful survey design and recruitment strategies.
- Learning: Enhanced skills in designing user-centered surveys and synthesizing data from diverse participant groups.
- Learning: Built experience in conducting competitor analysis using user reviews and product feature benchmarking.
- Learning: Improved ability to observe and interpret qualitative research sessions for strategic recommendations.
- Impact: Recommended features such as personalized wellness plans, gamification, community forums, and wearable integration.
- Impact: Redesign recommendations projected to boost participation by 40%, emphasizing personalization, gamification, and wearable integration.