I am creating a currency that aims to promote the issues of mental health in our soceity and and individuals self help, through a system to accumulated points which can then provide benefits to a persons life.
First, I need to find out who my potential users are for this currency, so I have devised a set of questions to ask individuals in a face-to-face interview. I chose interviews as my primary research method because they provide data which is more fertile, than from a method such as questionnaires. Questionnaires can collect more data in a shorter period of time, but they remain abstract as you cannot witness the respondent’s actions. There may be an emotion reaction to a specific question which cannot be portrayed through to the researcher in a questionnaire, where as it can in an interview. Interviews do take more time however, the information gathered is much more fertile. You are also able to ask open ended questions to gather additional detail.
I will start by interviewing some classmates, the majority of which are 19 to 22 years old. This will give me a good insight into this demographic. I will also be interviewing some of my colleague from work who are much older. This will allow me to devise a more diverse set of results. Whilst I am doing this, I will start to develop a clear image of the persona for my product.
Interview questions
I conducted some interviews with my classtimes. I asked them about their relationship with time, what thier general impressions of time are, how they spend their time. The list of questions I asked:
What are your perceptions of time? -What does it mean to you?
Do you find yourself ever wasting time in your day?
If so, what are you usually doing when wasting time?
What part of the day do you find yourself not doing anything useful? (example: in the morning/specific time)
Do you ever think ‘I wish I had done something more productive instead to wasting that time’?
What if you could do something more productive with that time wasted, but in the future? Would that be something that interests you?
Do you ever feel you spend too much time working/being busy? (Mental health specific question)
How do you feel when more time has passed than you realise? Does it scare you? Give you anxiety.
Can you map your day, from when you wake up to when you go to sleep. Jotting the rough time you done something, like wake up, brush your teeth?
The responses
I have conducted four interviews so far and have realised I need to make some changes to the questions. Till I asked someone these questions, I didn't realise some were quite repetitive. For example, question 3 and 5. I have no decided to remove it. Most of the research is still useful though. The most interesting thing I picked out from these four people were that, not everyone wants money was a reward. I will take on this feedback to develop me project. I will also conduct more research.
Interview questions 2
Know that I have changed the idea of my digital currency, I have created a new set of quetions which focus on a persons wellbeing and what they do to imrpove it. It was important that I go out and ask other people these questions so I can back up whatever decisions I make for my currency and reward system.
Do you suffer from any mental health issues?
Do you use any systems to improve your wellbeing?
If so, are these usually digitally based?
If they are digital, what are some of the key features provided by that service you think are useful?
Do you look for high interactivity between a person and a system? Or do you prefer something static, tapping on buttons and static responses?
Do you think you would like chatting with artificial intelligence about your health? Or would you prefer a real person, a doctor?
Would a reward system in place entice you do improve your self help? Why?
What type of rewards would you like to receive when discussing your mental wellbeing?
If there was a system what knew the activities you go through each day, with a very low incorrect rate, would this push you do use that system, or would it creep you out?
The responses
Person 1
This person did not suffer from any mental health issues however, they stated they know of many close people in their life who did, which meant they themselves did not use any systems.
When I asked what they would look for in an app based in mental wellbeing, they stated it would require heavy focus on improving their self-help and inform them of ways they could do that.
This person preferred to talk to A.I when discussing their help. He said, 'I would much prefer it as it's not a real person however, it would definitely depend on how smart the system was because I wouldn't want to chat to A.I what could not help me as well as a doctor could.' What he argued makes sense. Mental health is very important, talking to a real human would obviously be the best way to improve however, if the technology is as good or even better than a human, would this entice more people to go digital?
The person was very happy when he learnt about the reward system in place stating: 'That sounds really fun. Earning something and improve my wellbeing. It’s like a win-win'. In terms of rewards, he mentioned the best rewards would be those that pushed improving yourself, such as exercise, cooking, reading and relaxation.
The last question did creep him out a bit. He was a bit sceptical about how his data would be kept safe from hackers since its very sensitive material.
Person 2
This user stated he does suffer from depression but has been able to manage it recently through a therapist. The only way he improves himself is by attending weekly meetings with this therapist stating: 'They are quite expensive and time consuming. I dread meeting with my therapist, but I know I have to, and she does help me'. They do not use any digital systems, such as apps, to improve the way they feel however, when asked what feature he would like to see in an app, he mentioned some form of conversation between himself and the system helping him. A conversational interface perhaps?
They did say they'd prefer talking to a real person, even if it's through an app. 'I guess it's because I am used to having therapy sessions, so I want a real person telling me about myself and not some robot'.
When asked about rewards, he expressed: 'Rewards sound like a good way to get those who are stuck in a really bad situation in life to do something about it. If the system in place can manage to do this in some way'. I agree with him. I would need to think of a really impactful way to get through to the user. Maybe connect with them on an emotional level?
Person 2 had no issue with a system that could remember all the activities he does in a day saying: 'I'd love to remember myself, so having something that shows me on an app, and shows me how I felt sounds really cool'.
Person 3
They identified as self-diagnosing themselves with mental health issues. 'Sometimes I feel really down and depressed, filled with anxiety. But it's nothing I can't handle'. She journals every night as a way to manage everything that's happened throughout the day. 'I do keep a journal where I go through the day’s activities and how I felt. It's quite time consuming and on some days, I skip it all together'. She also stated using one quiz-based app which aimed to improve her thinking.
When asked about what she would like to see in an app, she said a section where she could write down how she felt would be appreciated. As well as a section that provides information on how to cope with these conditions.
She would prefer an interface that uses buttons to select input, such as emotions and feeling. 'I don't feel like a chatbot has the ability to understand something so complex even many humans can't understand themselves'.
'Rewards sound like people wouldn't even realise what they are doing is having a benefit on them'. I guess this is what I am aiming for. Creating a system which rewards users and they can then rewards themselves with a discounted activity.
When asked about rewards: 'I'd like to see discounted therapy session rewards'. This is really interesting, I didn't think about this. Maybe my system could connect with real therapists and provide discounted sessions?
Person 4
This person suffered from anxiety, using a variety of apps to aid them. This were apps with high ratings from the Apple App store, which they pointed out.
Some of the key features they liked were more to do with the design and interface of the app. Describing them as 'sleek and modern' looking. One feature they mentioned was again, a notes section. Also preferring a static interface with buttons that are selected, not communicating with a chatbot.
Rewards? 'Yeah, why not?' He replied. 'If I'm going to give my data away to an app, I might as well get something in return from it'.
Taking the above responses into consideration, I have developed two user personas for my currency.
Conclusions
In conclusion, I discovered that there are many protentional users that could benefit from the system I am designing. The rewards aspect seemed to entice many of those interviews, with the usual reaction being: 'Yeah', 'Sounds cool' and 'Free things?'. Anything main think I drew out from this research was they the majority of people wanted an interface they can interact with, yes by using buttons and symbols, but also something that seems like it cares. Maybe some form of A.I?
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