UX Strategy for a Gaming Company Looking to Launch a Cognitive Health App

Background

This case study presents the findings of a research project for a cognitive health disruptor. A well known gaming company approached us with an idea to gamify cognitive health through an app leveraging movement/mobility based neurological techniques. 

We conducted a mixed methods study over the course of 8 weeks to gain insights into user motivations, barriers, and preferences related to cognitive health apps. Additionally, we worked together to determine the market viability and used the lean canvas business model to understand the customer jobs, barriers and gains. 

What did we do? 

We conducted the research in two phases: a quantitative survey followed by qualitative user interviews. 

The survey targeted 150 participants and measured various constructs related to app usage, including device types, other wearables used, fitness and wellness applications, and cognitive health applications. The survey also assessed the effectiveness of these apps, overall satisfaction with cognitive health, and actions taken to improve cognitive health routine.

Following the survey, we recruited 12 interviewees from both the survey respondents and general recruitment panels (UI, Respondent, etc …). We conducted in depth interviews which covered three main dimensions of health: physical, mental, and cognitive health. Participants shared insights into their overall wellness routines, active health conditions, concerns about cognitive health, app usage patterns, and pain points associated with app adoption.

Findings

The analysis of survey data and user interviews revealed several key findings. For a company unsure of who the early adopters might be, or the kinds of people their product will appeal to, I find personas a helpful way to think about who the early adopters are, why they might adopt a tool and how they might even help evangelize your product.

User Personas

Below is a high level summary of the personas I created together with the product team:

Optimizers: A health and fitness enthusiast with a strong routine and motivation for overall well-being.

Age-Conscious Consumer: Someone who no longer wants to engage in fitness for performance or aesthetics, but seeks to primarily develop healthy habits for longevity.

Anxious and Overwhelmed: A likely early adopter who is interested in establishing a routine but struggles to stick to a fitness routine. Requires a supportive environment and low barrier to entry with a lot of education and support.

Dabblers: A user who prioritizes socializing through fitness apps and values affordability. Someone who is likely to engage in fitness if peers or social group is doing it — such as a group challenge or group training events.

Chronic and Acute Injury Sufferers: An important and key group dealing with injuries or chronic conditions. They’re generally very motivated to improve in spite of challenges, but need an app that recognizes their specific limitations.

Motivations

When thinking about app engagment, and particularly health and wellness apps, it's useful to think about motivation. What is the spark that compels users to engage with an app? What helps them stick with something when the initial novelty wears off?

Many users already using cognitive health apps such as Lumosity already had the impression that cognitive health is flexible over the lifespan, and that they can actively improve it through exercise. Generally, motivations for adopting cognitive health apps included improving memory, enhancing thinking abilities, and enhancing mood.

We also notice that a high degree of commitment to self improvement and a belief that they had control over that improvement was critical to uptake and retention.

Barriers

When thinking about product uptake, even the most motivated and enthusiastic users will face challenges.

In this instance, many of those we spoke with faced several barriers that had less to do with specific features and more to do with lifestyle habits.

Difficulty sticking to a routine, lack of knowledge on where to start, and past negative experiences with fitness-related activities were the prominent themes. Price sensitivity and limited time also emerged as potential barriers.

Apart from the tangible barriers, users either felt cognitive health was something they had control over, or was something doomed to decline. Users who felt that cognitive health was fixed were categorized as a market to later target through specific campaign messaging, but not as early adopters.

Pain Points

In effort to understand how to be competitive in the market, it's important to understand how your product can avoid pain points in the existing competition.

Users highlighted pain points associated with their current app experiences. Some of the key frustrations included overly ambitious starting points whereby users had to commit to big tasks or long games in order to progress. Others felt annoyed that some of the games were “too easy” and they didn’t notice any improvement. 

Some lamented the lack of suitable support or guidance once they reached a certain level. In other words, they hit a point where they felt like they would benefit from something more personalized — such as less emphasis on memory and more on puzzles, but the app didn’t allow for such flexibility. Unsurprisingly, many voiced frustrations with the standard of care for certain health conditions and couldn’t find apps suitable for their specific needs.

One major theme that also arose was the need for all health apps to connect to each other. Users wanted their hydration app to connect to their Garmin or Fitbit so they could understand and integrate all the health data they were tracking. 

Implications and Recommendations

To say the least, the findings were overwhelming and somewhat contradictory. This is not uncommon in user research, especially qualitative research. While at first it seems daunting, this should be a sign that you're doing research correctly. Humans tend towards the ambivalent. Furthermore, barriers and motivations can just be different sides of the same coin. Motivating to one person can be a barrier to another. In this instance, health stats could be great for the optimizers, but may further overwhelm the anxious and overwhelmed.

This is where the lean canvas comes in handy. It helps companies get clear on who to prioritize and how to do it. In this example, I walked the client through the Lean Canvas model to get clear on what features are necessary for a MVP:

Allow users to specify concerns to create tailored content, such as memory improvement, mood enhancement, and self-improvement. Flexibility is key, especially to optimizers who may want to see a lot of data. 

Integrate with other health apps and display the data in a way that gives users actionable things to focus on that day. Most customers already use other apps, so let's work with the momentum. 

Provide a supportive and non-intimidating user experience to accommodate users with diverse backgrounds and fitness levels. This will help encourage the anxious and overwhelmed to feel more comfortable. 

Offer several affordable pricing options to appeal to cost-conscious users.

Ongoing collaboration with healthcare professionals to address the gaps in standard care for users dealing with injuries or chronic conditions. This will be especially useful to those suffering from chronic and acute injuries. 

Additionally, awareness of the various health conditions that might bring a user to interact with an app like this would give a strong market advantage and an empathetic, personalized feel. 

Conclusion

The case study on user motivations and barriers in cognitive health app adoption highlighted the diverse and often contradicting needs of users. By understanding these insights, companies in the cognitive health industry can develop targeted strategies to enhance user experiences, improve app adoption rates, and deliver value to their customers. The findings from our research serve as a foundation for the development of user personas, user stories, and feature prioritization, ultimately guiding the successful launch of cognitive health products in the market.