desist
SUMMARY: In an intensive 8 day UX/UI bootcamp project, our team—Jorge Garcia Formoso, Oliver Simpson, and I—developed an innovative app concept aimed at aiding individuals in their journey to quit smoking.
Project: Tasked with creating a digital tool that addresses a wellness-related subject, we zeroed in on smoking cessation, a field ripe for innovation despite its crowded landscape.
Solution: "Desist" is a smoking cessation app designed to help users manage addiction triggers in real-time through AI-driven suggestions for coping mechanisms and a widget for quick access during cravings.
My Role
UX Strategy
UX Research
Concept Design
CX testing
Timeline
8 days
Platform
Android
Introduction:
Our team at the IronHack UX/UI bootcamp embarked on a mission to tackle one of the most daunting challenges—smoking cessation. Tasked with developing an MVP within eight days, we ventured into this project not just to create an app, but to deeply understand and address the intricacies of human behavior and psychology involved in quitting smoking. Our solution, Desist, leverages AI technology to provide real-time support and personalized coping mechanisms, aiming to fill the gap in existing solutions by offering an innovative approach to managing smoking urges and triggers.
Problem Identification:
Despite the plethora of smoking cessation aids available, our research identified a critical gap: the lack of real-time support for individuals grappling with the urge to smoke and a personalized approach to managing addiction triggers. Traditional solutions often fail to address the immediate, momentary challenges faced by individuals attempting to quit smoking, underscoring the need for an intervention that can offer instant, tailored assistance to navigate the complex journey of cessation.
Strategic Approach & Research
Our strategic approach was centered on embracing both the physical and psychological battles of quitting smoking. Through comprehensive market and user research, including insights from WHO and CDC, we recognized the importance of real-time interaction and AI-driven personalization in smoking cessation. This led to the development of Desist, an app designed to understand and adapt to individual user patterns, offering custom strategies to manage cravings and triggers, thereby enhancing the efficacy of the quit-smoking journey.
USER context
According to the World Health Organisation:
There are 1,1 billion smokers worlwide
70% are trying to quit
Less than
8%
succeed
Relapse Factors
Nicotine Cravings
Irritability, frustration, anger
Anxiety & Depression
Difficulty concentrating
Increased appetite
Insomnia
Restlessness
Slower heart rate
Gastrointestinal issues
Cough, sore throat
Headaches and dizziness
Withdrawal
symptoms
mental health
& personal history
Stress
habits
cultural norms
lack of knowledge
Social Settings
Alcohol consumption
Peer Pressure
Hormonal variations
Weight gain
Studies have shown that self reported data on smoking relapse is too unreliable to consider as absolutes: addiction is a multi-faceted combinations of psychological and physical factors.
Helping factors
Positive reinforcement
NRT
Nicotine replacement
Counseling
Cold turkey
(quit at once)
Support groups
Family support
User pain points
Based on 9 interviews
Solution Develoment
Building on the foundational research and strategic insights, our solution, the Desist app, was conceptualized to address the nuanced challenges faced by individuals like Emma in their journey to quit smoking. The MVP of Desist focuses on real-time management of urges through an easily accessible widget, AI-powered analysis of smoking patterns to suggest personalized coping mechanisms, and a suite of features designed to support users throughout their cessation journey.
MVP Statement:
Desist empowers users to manage smoking urges in real-time with an AI companion, track their journey through a personalized dashboard, and share progress with healthcare professionals, facilitating a comprehensive and supportive quit-smoking journey.
Key Features of the MVP:
Urges Management Widget: Offers instant access to distraction and coping strategies during cravings, leveraging AI to provide personalized support.
Progress Dashboard: Logs each interaction with the app, displaying achievements and progress for positive reinforcement.
Daily/Weekly Questions: Utilizes a medically approved list of metrics to monitor withdrawal symptoms and tailor the coaching experience.
Report Sharing: Enables users to share their progress with healthcare professionals or loved ones, enhancing the support network.
Personal Journal Calendar: Allows users to document their quit-smoking journey, adding depth and personal reflection to their experience.
Desist development strategy
Our strategy evolved to adapt our design to a market opportunity.
Market analysis, SWOT and features comparison helped me pinpoint a market opportunity and how to adapt to it.
Money saved
Days of life
Days in a row
Cigs avoided
Achievements
Progress
other
Diary Entrance - Jan 4th
...
Metrics
i’m craving
i had a cig
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
X
January 2024
m t w t f s s
1
8
15
22
29
2
9
16
23
30
3
10
17
24
31
4
11
18
25
5
12
19
26
6
13
20
27
7
14
21
28
...
Triggers
Cigarets
Stress
Jan 4th
Send selected date Report
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
i’m craving
i had a cig
January 2024
m t w t f s s
1
8
15
22
29
2
9
16
23
30
3
10
17
24
31
4
11
18
25
5
12
19
26
6
13
20
27
7
14
21
28
...
Triggers
Cigarets
Stress
Jan 4th
Send selected date Report
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
i’m craving
i had a cig
Ai Companion
I’m having a beer with a friend
Yes, my friend
I told her some time ago.
--------------------today 14:35--------------------
Cravings last for 3 minutes, hold with me
A pattern seems to emerge in your diary, were you triggered by work-related stress once again?
😔 Sorry to read that... in case you’re up for it, “heart coherence technique” is a breathing exercise that has been proven to help manage both stress and craving. Would you like to try that next time a similar trigger happens?
Heart coherence is a state in which the heart, mind, and emotions are synchronized and balanced. This state is associated with feelings of well-being, relaxation, and improved cognitive function.
Great! Let me know if you want to try later today or next time you have a trigger at work.
ok!
--------------------- Just now ---------------------
Cravings last for about 3 minutes, hold with me
Did a specific event trigger this urge?
Are there smokers around you?
Is your friend aware that you’re trying to quit?
You managed to pull through an urge for the 3rd time today, and you’ve reached 26 days without smoking: that’s something only 15% of smokers trying to quit manage to achieve! Well done ✨
--------
You:
“I told her some time ago.”
--------
it may be worth sharing your achievement and experience with your friend, and let her know how it would be an immense help for her to simply delay her smoking when you two are together.
Social & festive gatherings are the primary cause of relapse. If you’d like to know more about this, just let me know 🙂
yes
what is it, exactly?
ok let’s try
let’s do it tomorrow if it happens again.
3:00
HOLD WITH ME
3:00
HOLD WITH ME
0:00
TIMER FINISHED
0:00
TIME’S GONE
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
--------------------today 14:35-----------------------------
Cravings last for 3 minutes, hold with me
(TIMER)
A pattern seems to emerge in your diary, were you triggered by work-related stress once again?
😔 Sorry to read that... in case you’re up for it, “heart coherence technique” is a breathing exercise that has been proven to help manage both stress and craving. Would you like to try that next time a similar trigger happens?
Heart coherence is a state in which the heart, mind, and emotions are synchronized and balanced. This state is associated with feelings of well-being, relaxation, and improved cognitive function.
Great! Let me know if you want to try later today or next time you have a trigger at work.
ok!
(TIMER ENDS)
--------------------- today 18:15 ------------------------
Cravings last for about 3 minutes, hold with me
(TIMER)
Did a specific event trigger this urge?
Are there smokers around you?
Is your friend aware that you’re trying to quit?
(TIMER ENDS)
You managed to pull through an urge for the 3rd time today, and you’ve reached 26 days without smoking: that’s something only 15% of smokers trying to quit manage to achieve! Well done ✨
--------
“I told her some time ago.”
--------
it may be worth sharing your achievement and experience with your friend, and let her know how it would be an immense help for her to simply delay her smoking when you two are together.
Social & festive gatherings are the primary cause of relapse. If you’d like to know more, just let me know 🙂
---------------------- today 19:50 ------------------------
How have you been feeling today?
Did you struggle with any of these symptoms in particular?
Are you experiencing any other symptoms?
I think you’re doing really well, your achievements speak for themselves! The first 30 days are usually the hardest, only 15% of people trying to quit actually manage to get to where you are!
I’d be happy to share some tips and tricks to address the symptoms you’ve described, starting with appetite and weight, would you be interested?
Generating answer
I’m having a beer with a friend
Yes, my friend
I told her some time ago.
yes
what is it, exactly?
ok let’s try
let’s do it tomorrow if it happens again.
Irritability, frustration, anger
Anxiety
Depression
Difficulty concentrating
Increased appetite and weight gain
Insomnia
Restlessness
Slower heart rate
Gastrointestinal issues
Cough, throat soreness and flu like symptoms
Headaches and dizziness
Other symptoms
Yes
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
Ai Companion
Doctor
[next appointment: Jan 15th 2024 - 17:45] - CONFIRM?
Good afternoon Emma, following our phone conversation, I’ve updated the time and day of our next appointment in the app, you can confirm or let me know if you need to change it.
Good afternoon Dr, i’ve confirmed for Jan 15th!
Perfect.
To best prepare for our appointment, could you share your report with me - from the 1st to the 4th of January?
Sure!
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
Friend
AI Companion
Doctor
Your chats
+
dashboard
calendar
chat
account
QuitSmoking
APP
26 days
smoke free!
€260 saved
help!
QuitSmoking
APP
26 days
smoke free!
€260 saved
help!
Plase fill out your daily report
QuitSmoking App
QS
APP
Android home screen + app widget: craving management user flow using the widget
Android home screen + widget + notification: Daily input user flow
Report sharing user flows
Dashboard
Calendar
Chats
Low fidelty prototypes
This low-fi exemplifies the type of interaction the LLM would be trained to achieve (user inputs in bold)
Design & Testing
The design and testing phase brought invaluable insights into the app's usability and effectiveness. Interacting with the AI companion emerged as a crucial feature, offering users a welcome distraction during urges. The decision to collapse past conversations by default was directly influenced by user feedback, addressing concerns about negative memories. This thoughtful consideration of user experience underscored the importance of empathy in design.
Competitive Alignment: market research revealed that the Desist app's features align well with those of top-rated competitors, positioning it strongly in the market.
Future Development Potential: The idea of a version tailored for healthcare professionals was identified as a significant opportunity to differentiate Desist further and enhance its value proposition.
Implementation and Impact (Projected)
The projected impact of Desist is substantial, aiming to revolutionize the smoking cessation landscape. With its real-time urge management widget, AI-powered insights, and features for progress tracking and report sharing, Desist is poised to significantly improve the quit-smoking process for its users.
We would know our design was successful if the outcomes were to show a reduction in the time users spend battling urges, an increase in successful quit attempts, and a higher level of engagement and satisfaction among users.
Furthermore, the app's compatibility with healthcare professionals' protocols opens up new avenues for collaborative care, enhancing the support network for individuals on their path to quitting.
Lastly, taking in consideration the environmental impact of Ai data centers, the sound alternative would be to run this app's neural network locally, which would potentially limit it's use to latest generation hardware. This is an aspect that would require further discussion with field experts.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
A major challenge was the low participation in our online survey, which limited our access to quantitative data. This obstacle, however, led me to compensate with a deeper dive into scientific research, revealing the complex psychological factors behind smoking relapse - and highlighted the fact that, had we had enough quantitative data, several aspects of self-reported behavior would have been too unreliable to design upon.
This experience highlighted the importance of thorough, expert-informed research in developing solutions for complex health behaviors like smoking cessation, even when time constraints pressure us to deliver data rapidly… But bad data would inevitably have led to a bad understanding of the problem.
This project being part of my UX bootcamp, I was not yet familiar with non-linear workflows. Being able to understand how to adapt the Design Thinking tools to each project specificity proved to be one of the major milestones of the journey.
Conclusion
Desist represents a new approach to smoking cessation, combining cutting-edge AI technology with a deep understanding of the quit-smoking journey's psychological and emotional dimensions.
The positive feedback from initial user testing, along with the app's alignment with top-rated competitor features, underscores its potential to make a significant impact. Looking ahead, the possibility of expanding Desist to include healthcare professional integration through a premium version highlights the app's potential for growth and its role in advancing smoking cessation efforts.