A presentation at RBC FutureMakers in in Toronto, ON, Canada by Andréa Crofts
She/Her/Hers Product Design Leader Design Researcher Community Builder Abuser of Expletives
Today’s Agenda 01 ‘Human-Centered’ 02 What is Digital Health? 03 Design Principles 04 Re-framing Success Metrics
Part One ‘Human-Centered’
A design and management framework that develops solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. – WIKIPEDIA.COM
Somewhere along the way, we got it all wrong.
Design Ethics Guides how designers determine the features of products, and how they assess the ethical significance or moral worth of the products that result from the activity of designing. – Encyclopedia.com
Design Ethics A lens through which to design (and code). Questions to ask yourself as you’re designing: Am I maximizing happiness for the greatest number of people? Am I treating people as an ends or as a means? What would happen if everyone did what I’m trying to do? Would I be happy for this to be published in tomorrow’s papers?
Part Two What is Digital Health?
Digital health is creating products with people’s wellbeing at the centre.
Digital Health = Physical + Psychological Social Health
Physical Ergonomics: Appropriate workstations that facilitate healthy work habits and posture Vision: Repeat exposure to screens Posture: Prolonged effects of over-working on or in front of technology
Psychological Mental Health: Maintaining healthy relationships with technology Spiritual Health: Finding intentional disconnection Social Health: Curbing technology addictions
Social “Privacy is no longer a social concern.” - Mark Zuckerberg Data Security: Having agency over your personal data (consent) Personal Privacy: Security of personal information Culture: Otherwise known as social norms, this is what is considered as normal in a society
The Psychology of Apps
Technology is exploiting vulnerability in human psychology.
The Genesis of Autoplay Video: A Timeline Youtube Recommended Videos: Late 2013 Facebook Auto-Play in News Feed: Late 2014 Netflix Auto-Play Series and Titles: Late 2016
“It’s time to stop the race to the bottom of the brain stem.” - Tristan Harris Former Design Ethicist at Google, now Founder of the Centre for Humane Technology
“Depression will be the leading cause of disease burden by 2030.” - World Health Organization
Constant Connection = Deep Disconnection
We’re building the news headlines of the future.
But, most importantly, the habits of the future.
It’s time for a hard re-start.
Part Three Design Principles
Enable users to enter flow without distractions It takes 23 minutes to get back on task after an interruption
Incorporating the three dimensions of digital health
Use habit forming loops for good. Health Apps As a preferential category
Use loading states as reminders to disengage Metal Gear Solid 4 “Isn’t it time for a break? It’s now after 1am. For your health, take a break! What time is better than now to do a few stretches and move around a little?”
More collaboration between designers and wellness practitioners Mood Notes: Thinking Traps Pause: Mindful Movements
Part Four Re-framing Success Metrics
DAU: Daily Active Users ARR: Annual Recurring Revenue CSAT: Customer Satisfaction MAU: Monthly Active Users NPS: Net Promoter Score SLA: Service-Level Agreement
These metrics didn’t happen by accident.
It’s time to reclaim + re-frame our metrics.
NEXT STEPS Re-frame success metrics for healthier impact metrics
DAU: Daily Active Users MAU: Monthly Active Users
MAU: Monthly Active Users NPS: Net Promoter Score + HGC: Health Goal Completion
Impact over Engagement
Things we can do: Design for the three dimensions of digital health: physical, mental and social Define what design ethics means to us, and live by that in our work every day. Use patterns that design for disconnection Opt for impact metrics over engagement metrics to evolve what success means
Let’s consider the ethics of our work, and be truly human-centered in our approach.
Digital health is creating products with people’s wellbeing at the centre.
How will your work impact your users’ digital health?
Let’s work together to create healthier futures. @andreacrofts acrofts@league.com andreacrofts.com/digital-health
andreacrofts.com/digital-health
Q+A @andreacrofts acrofts@league.com league.com/careers
Examining our responsibility as creators to design for disconnection. The “restore connection” alert isn’t just for devices– it applies to people too. And it’s more important now than ever before.
Digital creators, we need to talk. The rise in mental health as a result of situational stress is a prevailing theme in today’s society, and some of the products we’re building are the root cause. But we have the power to change this. As creators of digital products, how might we enable our users to be more present in their lives? How might we invest in features like Instagram’s activity timer, despite the fact that they’re fundamentally counterintuitive to the usage metrics most behemoth tech companies are driving towards?
We have a responsibility as creators of digital products to enable others to disconnect …and re-connect with themselves– physically and mentally. This intersection is an emerging category Andrea likes to call digital health, and it’s something we can create together.
for free. You
can too.