Designing and presenting digital nudges on mobile phones Building an app based on system requirements and usability heuristics

Abstract

The environment is progressively affected by global warming and pollution, whereas fossil fuel transportation is one of the major causes. This thesis describes a system that aims to support users in choosing environmentally friendly transportation alternatives. The system uses digital nudging to motivate behavioral change in a non-intrusive manner.

This project focuses on the presentation of nudging in a mobile environment. Mobile applications reside in a complex environment with many constraints and limitations. The applications also communicate and influence the end users based on architectural and front-end components. Such applications should thus follow strict guidelines to ensure a robust, extendable, and reusable foundation. Furthermore, the applications should utilize various techniques based on psychological effects and user experience principles to stay competitive in the current market.

This project presents a selection of psychological requirements designed for nudging. Additionally, the project creates a novel set of usability heuristics designed for nudging. The project implements an Android app based on the requirements and heuristics. The app lays the foundation for future extensions of front-end designs and nudging.