Patent Application
20170208021
Individuals often desire to improve their well-being, such as by exercising more or eating healthier. As committed as people are to achieve wellness improvements, however, all too often people's commitment falls short. After an enthusiastic start, people lose motivation and fail to follow through with activities necessary to achieve their desired goals. Some individuals are fortunate enough to have a coach, mentor, friends or family that encourage the individual to stick with their intended plan. Such support can be critical in order to keep the individual progressing towards the goal. Unfortunately, such personal support is not always available to everyone, or is not available on a consistent basis. Without support, many individuals ultimately stop progressing towards their goal and eventually give up the effort. It would therefore be desirable to identify a mechanism to motivate individuals to continue with a wellness plan in order to achieve a desired goal.
Various embodiments are disclosed in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
A message management system that sends customized nudge messages to help a user achieve wellness objectives is disclosed herein. The message management system is integral to, or used in support of, a wellness system that allows users to participate in various wellness programs to improve the user's mental or physical well-being. A user initially selects a wellness program having one or more goals. Each goal is typically defined by one or more tasks that are to be completed within a certain timeframe. For example, the overall goal of a selected wellness program may be to reduce stress during a one week period. The tasks in the selected wellness program may be to take a five-minute walk outside the office twice during the work day, to watch a short instructional video on stress reduction, and for the user to journal thoughts at the end of each day. Until the user has completed the selected wellness program, the management system may send “nudge messages” to the user depending on the user's progress within the program or other factors. Generally, a nudge message comprises motivational content delivered to the user at a certain time to help motivate the user to complete one or more tasks and progress towards the overall goal. A nudge message can include an inspiration, an encouragement, a piece of advice, an acknowledgement, an affirmation, a reminder of an ultimate goal, or whatever content helps the user complete a task or tasks. The message may be an image, audio such as a spoken message or a song, a video, a textual message, or any combination thereof that might have a motivational impact on the user. For purposes of discussion herein, the motivational content delivered in the nudge message shall be referred to generically as the message “content.”
Nudge messages are delivered to the user via one or more communication channels, depending on the communication channel most likely to cause the message to reach a user and have a desired motivating effect. For example, the nudge message may be an electronic message sent to the mobile device of a user, a recorded message placed to a landline of the user, or a postcard physically mailed to a user. In some embodiments, the same nudge message may be sent to the user via multiple communication channels at the same or at different times.
The message management system monitors the effectiveness of the nudge messages that are sent to a user. Nudge messages that cause a user to complete tasks or achieve goals within a desired timeframe are noted as being more effective by the system. In contrast, nudge messages that do not cause a user to complete tasks or achieve goals within a desired timeframe are noted as being less effective. When sending future nudge messages to the user, the system takes into account the effectiveness of past nudge messages when selecting the content of the nudge message, timing of the nudge message, or communication channel of the nudge message in order to increase the likely effectiveness of the nudge message.
Various embodiments of the invention will now be described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and an enabling description of these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the invention may be practiced without many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail, so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments. The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention.
By analyzing recorded user behavior or receiving direct user feedback, the management system modulates the sending of nudge messages to a user. As the message management system sends more nudge messages to the user and also across a population of users, the system is able to better model the appropriate content, time, and communication channel with which to send a nudge message. Such adaptation allows the system to more effectively target nudge messages to help a user complete the task or tasks associated with a selected wellness program.
By virtue of at least the features noted above, the message management system provides a user with customized encouragement or motivation in conjunction with a wellness program. The management system adapts to the preferences of a user and how a user reacts to the received nudge messages. Accordingly, the management system helps the user achieve an optimal result from the wellness program.
The message management system 200 operates as part of, or in conjunction with, a wellness system 210. The wellness system 210 allows users to participate in various wellness programs to improve the participating user's mental or physical well-being. The wellness system 210 provides users access to different wellness programs via an online portal or an application operating on desktop or mobile computing devices. Each wellness program has one or more goals for a user to achieve. A goal may be to improve a particular lifestyle skill, such as to sleep better, eat better, exercise more, perform certain activities to mitigate the risk of or effect of a particular health condition, etc. Each goal is typically defined by one or more tasks that are to be completed within a certain timeframe. For example, a task might be to watch a particular video, to perform a certain activity, to answer a set of questions, etc. The wellness system 210 manages the presentation of tasks to the user (including, for example, the streaming of videos, provision of educational content, presentation of surveys or quizzes to a user, etc.), and tracks completion of the tasks though certain direct or indirect methods described in additional detail herein. Users that complete all tasks of a wellness program within a particular time frame demonstrate to the wellness system 210 that they have mastered the skills represented in that program. The time frame in which a particular wellness program is to be completed may be set by the wellness system. For example, a relaxation wellness program may have a fixed two week length in which it is to be completed. Alternatively, a user may be allowed to specify a length of time in which they would like to complete a selected wellness program. For example, the system may allow the user to specify that they would like to complete the relaxation wellness program within 4 weeks. By successful completion of programs, users hopefully improve their overall life and well-being.
The message management system 200 operates in conjunction with the wellness system 210 to periodically send nudge messages to users to help users stay on track to complete selected wellness programs. To send nudge messages, the message management system 200 includes a communication component that facilitates communication to or from client devices 202 across networks 204. Client devices 202 can be a mobile phone 202a, a tablet 202b, a laptop computer 202c, a desktop computer 202d, a wearable device such as a smartwatch 202f, etc. To communicate with users that don't have a mobile device or computer, the client device 202 may also be a landline phone 202d. Networks 204 are public or private, wired or wireless networks, such as the Internet, government, or corporate networks. In addition or in lieu of communicating with a client device, the message management system 200 may also have the capability to cause physical mail 206 to be sent to a user. For example, the message management system 200 may have the capability to cause personalized postcards or letters to be printed and mailed to the user.
The user profile module 302 maintains a profile of a user that is to receive nudge messages. Each user profile contains a variety of information that may be used by the system to tailor nudge messages to the user. For example, the profile may contain demographic and personal information about the user, such as the user's age, gender, birthdate, marital status, home address, phone number, medical conditions, etc. The profile may include various information about the user's favorite activities (e.g., sports, hobbies, vacation destinations), the user's favorite music (e.g., bands, songs, genres of music) or video (e.g., movies, television shows), or friends and family (e.g., links to friends or family on Facebook™, LinkedIn™, or other social media platforms). A record of the general likes and dislikes of the user allows the system to identify nudge content that is likely to be more compelling and effective to move the user to action. The system also may also use such information to avoid certain types of content that are perceived to be de-motivating to the individual (e.g., sending a pop music video to a user that has an interest in classical music).
The stored user profile may also contain express user preferences for nudge messages, such as desired communication channels, desired nudge formats (e.g., text message, email, video versus static images), and desired time and/or frequency of nudges. The user can specify conditions under which nudge messages can be received with certain complex formulations. Those formulations may be based on any combination of type of content, day or time of day, and communication channel. For example, the user can indicate that a nudge message should not contain audio when the user is in the office. As another example, the user may specify that they would only like to receive nudge messages between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm during the work week, but between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm on weekends. As yet another example, a user can specify receiving nudge messages on a mobile phone identified by a mobile number when the user is in a certain location, but receiving nudge messages on a wearable device when the user is at any other location.
Data contained in the user profile may be expressly provided by the user, such as in response to a registration form or survey that is presented to the user by the wellness system 210 or message management system 200 when registering for a wellness program. Data may also be collected by the system based on responses to nudge messages that might be sent to the user. For example, the system may solicit feedback on a nudge message that is sent to the user (“did you like this image?” or “click here to stop sending me nudges like this” or by use of like and dislike icons as depicted in
In addition to storing information about the user and the user's preferences, the user profile module 302 also maintains a record of the current wellness programs that a user is currently undertaking, as well as a record of any past wellness programs that the user has already completed. As previously described, each wellness program typically encompasses one or more goals. In order to reach the goal or goals, the user must complete one or more tasks within a particular timeframe. To track the user's progress within a particular wellness program, the system may directly or indirectly receive progress updates about the user. For example, the message management system 200 may receive an indication of progress within a program from the wellness system 210. The received indication of progress may include an express list of tasks that have already been completed by a user in the wellness program. The completed tasks may be based on detected physical activities of the user (e.g., receiving an indication from a wearable computing device that the user walked 10,000 steps today), or based on known educational content delivered to the user via a computing device (e.g., the presentation of an educational video or quiz to the user by the system). Alternatively, the received indication of progress may be an indication of the portion of the wellness program that had been completed as of the time of progress update. For example, the wellness system might indicate that the user had completed 37% of a wellness program as of 1 pm today, or completed 12 of 17 tasks as of the time the progress update was transmitted. The received progress data provides the system 200 with likely locations of the user within the wellness program and a general sense of the pace of the user towards completing the wellness program.
Additionally, the user profile module 302 also maintains information about the current context of the user. “Context” refers to any information characterizing the current state of the user, such as the physical location of the user (e.g., at home versus at work, travelling on vacation versus located in the city where the user resides), the current time of day where the user is located, and the current day of the week (e.g., weekday versus weekend). As part of receiving context information, the message management system may also receive information from user devices about the recent motion of the user. For example, a user's smartphone or smartwatch may contain various sensors, such as a GPS module, a motion detector, a heart monitor, or other monitoring component that monitors the user's body functions. The message management system 200 can receive the sensor data from these devices and assess the location of the user and whether the user has recently completed, or is currently participating in, any physical exercise or movement.
A nudge triggering module 304 recommends potentially sending a nudge message to a user based on the user's pace in a particular wellness program or based on another condition indicating that a nudge message may be warranted. The triggering module may recommend sending a nudge message to a user when the user is behind, on, or ahead of schedule in a particular wellness program, although typically nudge messages are more likely to be sent when a user has fallen behind a desired pace within the wellness program. Although the nudge analysis is initially triggered by the user's pace within a wellness program or other condition, as will be described herein the system modulates when to actually send nudge messages is based on the user's current context, the user's preferences, the user's reaction to previous nudge messages, and other factors.
On a periodic or continuous basis, the nudge triggering module 304 compares a user's location in each wellness program in which the user is participating with the corresponding program parameters in order to assess whether the user is ahead of, at, or behind the expected program pace. If the user falls behind the program pace by a particular threshold, the nudge triggering module 304 determines that the user is a suitable candidate for receiving a nudge message. In such circumstances, the nudge message is intended to help motivate the user to re-engage with the wellness program. In some embodiments, the nudge triggering module 304 may also detect other conditions which could reflect a likely slowdown in pace of completing a wellness program. The detection of such conditions indicates that the user is a suitable candidate for receiving a nudge message. Some conditions that may indicate the user is a candidate for a nudge message include the weather (e.g., if it has rained for several days at a location of the user), a time of year (e.g., nudge messages may be more beneficial during the holiday season), or a physical state of the user (for example, a wearable device on the user may report that the user has had a poor night of sleep and therefore may benefit from a nudge message). In some embodiments, the nudge triggering module 304 will also randomly determine an appropriate time to send nudge messages to a user, even if the user is at or ahead of an expected program pace. Such random nudge messages act to re-affirm and continue to motivate the user to participate in the selected wellness program.
At block 404, the management system 200 determines whether the user is at, on, or behind the appropriate pace for the wellness program and therefore might be a suitable candidate for receiving a nudge message. To determine whether the user is on pace for the wellness program, the nudge triggering module 304 compares the current time/date with the corresponding order and schedule of the wellness program. The comparison may be based on the average rate of task completion. For example, if the user is expected to complete 15 tasks in a selected wellness program within two weeks, and the user has only completed 4 tasks after the first five days, the nudge triggering module identifies that the user has fallen behind the task completion pace necessary to complete the program within the specified timeframe and is therefore a candidate for receiving a nudge message. The comparison may also be a direct comparison of tasks already completed by the user with a task schedule associated with the wellness program. If, as of the date checked, the user has not completed the required tasks within the specified timeframe, the user is identified as a candidate for receiving a nudge message.
In addition to assessing whether the user is behind pace at block 404, the nudge triggering module 304 may also randomly recommend that the user should receive a nudge message even though the user is at or ahead of pace for the corresponding wellness program. Such random assignment ensures that even users who are successfully executing on a wellness program may periodically receive nudge messages for encouragement.
In addition to assessing whether the user is behind pace at block 404, the nudge triggering module 304 may also detect other conditions which might impact the user's pace in completing a wellness program. Using the current location of the user, the nudge triggering module 304 may access online services (e.g., The Weather Channel™) to determine the current weather that the user is experiencing. If the current weather matches stored profiles of weather patterns that are likely to demotivate users (e.g., if it has rained for several days at the user's location, if heavy snowfall has occurred where the user is located), the user may be identified as a candidate to receive a nudge message. The nudge triggering module 304 may also access certain personal data reflecting a physical state of the user. For example, the nudge triggering module 304 may examine data from a user's wearable device and analyze the sleep pattern of the user over several nights. If the sleep pattern of the user matches stored sleep patterns reflecting poor sleep (e.g., the user is getting up multiple times during a night, the user has only had short amounts of sleep for several nights in a row), the user may be identified as a candidate to receive a nudge message. The detection of these or other conditions by the nudge triggering module 304 indicate that the user is a suitable candidate to receive a nudge message.
At decision block 406, the nudge triggering module 304 determines whether the user is a candidate for a nudge message. If the user is not a candidate, processing returns to block 402 where another wellness program in which the user is enrolled is evaluated. If the user is a candidate for a nudge message, however, processing continues block 408. At this point, the user is merely a candidate for receiving a nudge message. Whether a nudge message is actually sent, and the actual timing of the nudge message, depends on other user-specific factors that are assessed by the messaging system 200.
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If a user has not prohibited sending nudge messages at the evaluated time, the message scheduling module 306 evaluates other contextual factors to identify appropriate timing to send a nudge message. Such contextual factors may include, for example, the current date and time, the user's current location, and any current activities of the user. The current activities of the user can be derived from activity sensor data indicating, for example, that the user is currently active (e.g., walking or running) or is currently sedentary. The current activities of a user can also be gleaned, for example, by using APIs to access information from social media platforms (e.g., Facebook™) to interpret recent posts indicating the current activities of the user. Using obtained contextual information, the message scheduling module 304 applies certain business rules to the contextual information to schedule the nudge message. For example, nudge messages may be found to be more effective when received immediately after the completion of certain physical activities. The message scheduling module 306 may therefore schedule the nudge message to be sent upon detecting that the user has completed any current activity. As another example, nudge messages may be found to be more effective when received during the afternoon, at a low point of a user's wake cycle, than when received at the end of the day immediately before the user goes to sleep for the night. The message scheduling module 306 may therefore schedule the nudge message to be sent in the mid-afternoon to the user. As yet another factor, as will be described in additional detail herein, the message management system 200 is always measuring feedback on the efficacy of past nudge messages that are transmitted to a user. Information about efficacy of past nudge messages that are delivered to a user is therefore used to guide the current scheduled time of the nudge message that is to be delivered to the user. For example, if past nudge messages that were delivered early in the morning to the user were determined by the system to be particularly effective in motivating the user's participation in a wellness program, then the system will weight mornings more heavily when assessing when to deliver nudge messages to the user. A rule applying all of these factors may thus be to schedule the nudge message to be sent between the hours of 2 pm-4 pm, provided that the user is not active during that period and provided that messages sent during that period have been effective in the past, otherwise to send the message in the evening. Applying the business rules to the contextual information, and applying any weightings based on past observed timing of nudge messages to the user, the message scheduling module 306 schedules an appropriate time for the nudge message to be sent to the user.
Once the timing of the nudge message has been determined at block 410, at block 412 the message scheduling module 306 determines an appropriate communication channel by which to transmit the message to the user. The message scheduling module 306 initially accesses the user profile to determine whether the user has specified the use of any particular communication channel. If the user has specified a particular communication channel (e.g., a mobile device), then the message scheduling module 306 selects that channel with which to send the nudge message. If the user has not specified the use of any particular communication channel, the message scheduling module 306 uses the obtained contextual information and applies certain business rules to the contextual information to select the communication channel. For example, nudge messages may be found to be more effective when received via a wearable computing device (e.g., a smartwatch) if the user is performing a physical activity, but via email sent to a desktop computer if the user is at work. As yet another factor, information about the efficacy of past communication channels used to send nudge messages to a user is used to guide the current selection of the communication channel. For example, if past nudge messages that were delivered to the user via a smartphone were determined by the system to be particularly effective in motivating the user's participation in a wellness program, then the system will weight the smartphone communication channel more heavily when assessing the channel to use for nudge messages. Applying the business rules to the contextual information, as well as any weightings based on past observed efficacy of communication channels with the user, the message scheduling module 306 selects a communication channel to use to send a nudge message to a user. Note that not all communication channels require the user to have a computing device to receive the message. For some users without access to technology, the nudge message may be scheduled by the message scheduling module 306 for delivery via postal mail or via a recorded call that is autodialed to a user's landline.
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After selecting content for the nudge message, at a block 412 the message generation and delivery module 308 transmits the message to the user at the appropriate time and via the appropriate channel. The transmission may be sent in a manner that the message management system 200 is able to confirm that the user has received and viewed/accessed the message, or the message may be sent in a fashion that the system is unable to determine that the user has received and viewed/accessed the message.
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In some cases, the feedback module 310 is able to detect a direct change in user behavior as a result of an immediate response or a change in action of the user. For example, a nudge message that is emailed to the user may contain a simple “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” icon on the message. A user may immediately respond to the received nudge message by pressing either icon to indicate to the system whether the nudge message was favorably or unfavorably received. In other cases, the system may be able to detect an immediate change in behavior of the user based on sensors associated with the user. For example, a user in a sedentary state may immediately get up and walk around after receiving a nudge message. Such movement may be detected by a wearable computing device sensor on the user, and transmitted back to the system. In the first case, the system has direct feedback on the favorable effect in the nudge message. In the second case, the system has indirect feedback of the effect of the nudge message, particularly if the change in state is one of the desired activities in the wellness program. Of course, with any nudge message sent to a user, the user can respond immediately, can respond with delay, or the user may not respond at all within a certain period of time.
Based on the user's reaction, the feedback module 310 records either a positive reaction, a neutral (or no) reaction, or a negative reaction to the nudge message and the parameters of the nudge message. For example, if a user consistently provides a “thumbs down” response to nudge messages received at 6 am in the morning, the system may store an indication that early nudge messages are disfavored.
It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the table 500 is merely representative of the type of data that might be stored by the message management system 200. Different parameters may be tracked, such as the user's reaction to different types of content that are contained in a nudge message. Different data resolutions may be used, for example, the hours of the day may be broken into 24 one-hour periods. And different mechanisms may be used to track the impact of the nudge messages. The data in the table may be continuously updated by the system, or may be updated on a periodic basis.
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As the feedback module 310 is able to develop a large dataset over an extended period of time pertaining to the efficacy of nudge messages, the feedback module 310 is able to better guide the message management system 200 in what to send as nudge messages and how to send nudge messages to the user. Such information may include the frequency of sending nudge messages, timing within a day of nudge messages, the expressiveness of the content of a nudge message, the format of a nudge message, the medium on which to present a nudge message, etc. Of course, the feedback module 310 may also be able to assess which type of nudge messages are largely ineffective, and thereby discontinue use of such nudge messages.
In some embodiments, the feedback module 310 examines data regarding the user's reaction to nudge messages for only a specific type of goals or for a specific type of wellness program. For example, the feedback module 310 may only evaluate the efficacy of nudge messages for wellness programs that include tasks involving physical activity (e.g., walking, running, exercising) and not evaluate the efficacy of nudge messages for wellness programs that only involve viewing videos and completing a survey. The feedback module may ignore nudge messages for such wellness programs, since nudge messages might be known to be generally less effective in those types of wellness programs. Moreover, the feedback module 310 can also examine data across certain groups of users to identify characteristics of nudge messages that are generally effective in helping users complete the necessary tasks. Once a like group of users are identified, the feedback module can apply learnings from that group to new users having characteristics that would place them in the group.
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The processor(s) 610 are the central processing unit (CPU) of the computer 600 and thus control the overall operation of the computer 600. In certain embodiments, the processor(s) 610 accomplish this by executing software or firmware stored in memory 620. The processor(s) 610 may be, or may include, one or more programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable controllers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), trusted platform modules (TPMs), or a combination of such or similar devices.
The memory 620 is or includes the main memory of the computer 600. The memory 620 represents any form of random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, or the like, or a combination of such devices. In use, the memory 620 may contain code 670 containing instructions according to the techniques disclosed herein.
Also connected to the processor(s) 610 through the interconnect 630 are a network adapter 640 and a mass storage device 650. The network adapter 640 provides the computer 600 with the ability to communicate with remote devices over a network and may be, for example, an Ethernet adapter. The network adapter 640 may also provide the computer 600 with the ability to communicate with other computers.
The code 670 stored in memory 620 may be implemented as software and/or firmware to program the processor(s) 610 to carry out actions described above. In certain embodiments, such software or firmware may be initially provided to the computer 600 by downloading it from a remote system through the computer 600 (e.g., via network adapter 640).
The techniques introduced herein can be implemented by, for example, programmable circuitry (e.g., one or more microprocessors) programmed with software and/or firmware, or entirely in special-purpose hardwired circuitry, or in a combination of such forms. Software or firmware for use in implementing the techniques introduced herein may be stored on a machine-readable storage medium and may be executed by one or more general-purpose or special-purpose programmable microprocessors.
The various embodiments are described above with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
A machine-readable storage medium, as the term is used herein, includes any mechanism that can store information in a form accessible by a machine (a machine may be, for example, a computer, network device, mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), manufacturing tool, or any device with one or more processors, etc.). For example, a machine-accessible storage medium includes recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., ROM, RAM, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.) or other types of media.
The aforementioned flowchart and diagrams illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special-purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions, or acts or combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.
Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out or practiced in various ways and that the invention can be implemented in embodiments other than the ones outlined in the description above.
