Outcomes and behavior change
Outcomes and behavior change
Yesterday I asserted that a product (of any kind) is a vehicle for value. And that a technology product specifically is a vehicle for technology-mediated, goal-directed, behavior change.
That's a mouthful. Where do we start?
With working backward from desired impact to behaviors.
This graphic summarizes the Kellogg Foundation Logic Model, a popular framework in the NGO world to think through social impact programs. The model was a key inspiration for Josh Seiden's excellent manifesto, Outcomes Over Output. (For more on outcomes thinking, check out my podcast with Josh Seiden.)
Behavior—of a person or a system—has to change to create the impact you intend.
Whatever you're building, ask yourself this:
What behavior has to change to create the result we want?
How do we drive that behavior?
The Logic Model above gets you the first. Behavior design gets you the second.
Understand both. Prototype until you get the behavior change you seek. Then productize.
(This is why product leaders are accountable for the outcomes-impact pairings they assign their teams.)