Emerging Tech Health Feature Discovery
Challenge
How might we help the business create a value proposition and use cases for a new health feature based on customer needs and desirability so they can launch the pilot in a customer-centered way while still achieving their business goals?
Solution
Provided value proposition and use case recommendations, identified target customers, and determined the “must haves” needed to launch the pilot in a customer-centered way.
Business Sponsor
Group Benefits Partnerships - Canada
Business Goals
Understand customer needs and interests
Assess the desirability of the potential feature
De-risk a potential pilot
Core Team
1 person from 1 business unit
Global Innovation (Me)
Stakeholders
5 people from 5 business units
Group Benefits Partnerships
Global Innovation Partnerships
Group Benefits Product
Canada HCD
Canada Marketing
My Roles
Project Lead
Research Lead
Discovery Research
For privacy reasons, I can’t go into specifics on the new health feature we were exploring but I can say that it was centered around emerging technology for the Manulife mobile app.
Our partnership teams found a company they wanted to partner with to do a pilot and were putting together a value proposition and some potential use cases to present to the executive leadership team. They asked me if I could quickly conduct some research to see if it was something they should pursue from a customer perspective, how people felt about it, and what the business would need to consider if they moved forward with the pilot.
Learn about customer understanding and perceptions of the technology and the potential new health feature
Identify customer needs and expectations for this type of health feature
Understand how customers might use and engage with the health feature
Identify customer preferences and suggestions I could use to build out the use cases
Research Objectives
Created a research plan
Studied up on the health feature, the company, and the technology behind the health feature so I could lead the research from an informed position
Desk Research
Created an interview guide and screener
Recruited 12 Manulife customers via UserTesting seperated into 4 groups:
Health not prioritized (0 participants) - Unable to recruit enough participants in the time allotted but this was the outlier group so I felt it was ok to proceed
Proactively healthy ( 4 participants)
Health at risk (4 participants)
Has a health diagnosis (4 participants)
Conducted 12 (1hr) virtual interviews via UserTesting
Audience breakdown:
Province
Income Range
Age Range
Gender identity
Race/Ethnicity
English as a primary/secondary language
Customer Interviews
Used Mural as my virtual workspace
Transferred key points from my interviews and created an affinity map
Created 8 design principles to help guide the team in their pilot integration and launch
Analysis and Synthesis
Affinity map
Image blurred for privacy
Perception Insights
Participants made positive remarks about it sounding interesting
There were a lot of questions related to how it works, privacy, and data security
Participants also questioned if it was actually possible, if it really did work, and how accurate the results would be
The key concerns were the accuracy and reliability of the results and that their privacy and data security would be protected
Expectation Insights
Participants stated what frustrations they thought the health feature could possibly allivate for them (not revealed due to privacy)
Participants revealed two key areas of value it could offer them (not revealed due to privacy)
Most participants expected to pay for the feature provided the amount was nominal and included everything but some did mention wanting to have some of it covered through their health plan
Preference Insights
Participants rated 5 potential use cases provided by the business and stated if they would be likely to use it and why:
Group 1: (Proactively Healthy and Health at Risk)
3 use cases had high ratings
1 use case had a medium rating
1 use case had a low rating
Participants rated 7 potential use cases provided by the business and stated if they would be likely to use it and why:
Group 2: (Has a Health Diagnosis)
4 use cases had high ratings
2 use cases had medium ratings
1 had a low rating
I can not reveal the use cases for privacy purposes
Engagement Insights
Participants stated they would use it on a regular basis to check in and be proactive
Most would use it on a monthly basis or possibly more often for those who already had a health diagnosis
Some did note that price might affect how often they used it
Participants revealed what might motivate them to use the feature (not revealed due to privacy)
Target Customer Archetypes
Once I had synthesized all the information I created 2 archetypes to help the team better understand which customers might gain the most value from the new health feature and potentially demonstrate the most engagement and behavior change
Proactive Customers – Those who are proactive about their health or know they are at risk for a health condition. App engagement is likely medium to high, and their key desires are privacy, data security, and accurate/reliable results.
Monitoring Customers – Those who have a diagnosed health condition or people age 50+. App engagement is likely high, and their key desires are accessibility, ease of use, and a nominal price inclusive of everything.
Proactive Pat archetype
Image blurred for privacy
Monitoring Morgan archetype
Image blurred for privacy
Value Prop and Use Case Recommendations
At the start of the project, the business provided me with their hypothesized value proposition including what the new health feature will enable, what it will help drive, and the outcome they expect.
I offered some revisions to the value prop based on customer insights
At the start of the project, the business provided me with some potential use cases
Based on customer research, I established 2 key use cases that could apply to both target customer groups, provide them with perceived value, and help increase engagement on the Manulife mobile app
I can not reveal my value proposition and use case recommendations for privacy purposes
Based on my research, there was desirability from customers for the new feature and I recommended they proceed with the pilot.
In order to de-risk the pilot, I recommended that they address some key areas prior to launch. The “Must Haves” to gain customer trust and engagement:
Ensure that the partner company can provide accurate results
Simple and clear communication on how the results are calculated and what ensures their accuracy
Simple and clear communication on how customer’s data would be kept secure
Simple and clear communication and information on how much it would cost and any available ways to offset the cost
Simple and clear communication on how customer’s privacy would be protected
Simple and clear communication to customers on how the technology works
Desirability and De-risking
Results
A 20% increase in mobile app adoption
A 30% increase in overall customer engagement on the mobile app
A 10% increase in engagement with health services on the mobile app
An improved NPS score
Anticipated Business Impact
By involving design early on in discovery, the business leveraged valuable customer insights and considerations that helped inform their business case to get buy-in, approval, and budget.
Time could have been saved had they created an integrated team at the start of vendor selection so all areas of the business could raise important questions and collaborate on research and launch strategy early on.