WORKSHOP · STRYKER · MOTIONSENSE · AUGUST 2024

Facilitating the 'Hooked' Workshop: Crafting Habit-Forming Experiences

Senior Product Designer (Facilitator) · Stryker OrthoLogIQ · Four 1-hour sessions

Workshop FacilitationBehavioural DesignHabit-Forming ProductsFigJamTeam Alignment

Purpose of the Workshop

Encouraging the team to think human-centred rather than business-centric.

While at Stryker, I initiated and facilitated a "Hooked" workshop with our team to explore how we could apply the principles of habit-forming products to enhance user engagement and retention. The workshop was based on Nir Eyal's "Hooked" framework, a widely recognised model for designing products that foster strong, lasting user habits.

My primary aim was to encourage the team to think from a human-centred perspective rather than a purely business-centric one. We focused on increasing user engagement after identifying that patient compliance in the app was low, an ongoing challenge in our industry. Our goal was to create a product that users find not only useful but instinctively turn to as a natural part of their knee recovery journey.

Hooked book cover by Nir Eyal alongside MotionSense Hooked Model infographic

Overview

Four phases. Four 1-hour sessions.

The Hooked model focuses on four key phases, Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment, that work together to form user habits. To cover the content thoroughly and give the team space to collaborate, I ran a series of four 1-hour workshops. We analysed our product through the lens of each phase to identify opportunities to better capture attention and encourage ongoing engagement.

Live workshop session, Aimee facilitating the Hooked workshop with the Stryker team over video call, working through FigJam

Workshop participants: Marketing Manager, Design Manager, UX/UI Designer, Usability Engineer, Director of Product Development and Software Development Manager.

Key Benefits

What applying the Hooked model could unlock.

Improve user engagement by understanding the triggers that bring users back
Simplify user actions to increase usability and conversion
Introduce variable rewards to keep the experience engaging and unpredictable
Foster user investment to deepen commitment and reduce churn

Facilitating with FigJam

A collaborative whiteboard for real-time, dynamic participation.

We ran the workshop on FigJam, a collaborative online whiteboard, which let the team explore the Hooked model's four phases interactively. It enabled us to brainstorm, organise insights, and prioritise actions visually and in real time, capturing diverse perspectives, aligning on key objectives, and generating actionable steps to enhance user engagement.

FigJam workshop board, Phase 2 Action summary with sticky notes, sketches and MotionSense screen mockups

Workshop Outcomes

A clearer view of the user journey, and a prioritised list of changes.

Our discussions led to a clearer understanding of the user journey and a prioritised list of changes and new features designed to align with the four phases of the Hooked model.

01
Trigger
We realised that MotionSense wasn't effectively addressing users' internal triggers, emotions and routines. We needed external triggers (notifications, alerts) to resonate more deeply with the underlying emotions of pain and uncertainty through a patient's knee recovery journey.
02
Action
We identified friction in the behaviour a user performs in anticipation of a reward, submitting knee photos, completing surveys, engaging with educational content. We saw a clear opportunity to simplify task flows and remove unnecessary steps or clicks.
03
Variable Reward
MotionSense was not providing unpredictable, engaging outcomes, so users weren't getting instant gratification. Rewards needed to vary in complexity and timing, depending on where the patient was in their recovery.
04
Investment
We saw missed opportunity in the investment phase, where users contribute something of value back to the product. Allowing patients to share progress with caregivers, family or peers could increase compliance and deepen engagement.

Results & Next Steps

A more unified team, aligned around user-centred design.

The workshop fostered a more unified understanding among the team of user-centred design principles, aligning everyone around the importance of creating products that truly resonate with our users' needs and experiences. By collaboratively exploring the Hooked model, we deepened our appreciation for the emotional and behavioural drivers that influence engagement.

Moving forward, I planned to prioritise our brainstorming outcomes with key stakeholders, focusing on identifying and refining the most impactful features to explore further, and developing initial design concepts that address the insights gained while enhancing user satisfaction and long-term engagement.

MotionSense Hooked Model infographic, Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, Investment cycle for the recovery companion

Outcome after exploring the Hooked Model: how MotionSense captures user engagement and drives habit formation.

At a Glance

4 × 1hr
workshop sessions
6 disciplines
design, product, engineering, usability, marketing
Habit framework
Nir Eyal's Hooked model applied to MotionSense

Framework

Based on Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal, a model for designing products that foster strong, lasting user habits through Trigger, Action, Variable Reward and Investment.

Original Presentation Deck