An N-of-1 Evaluation Framework for Behaviour Change Applications

McCallum, Claire, Rooksby, John, Birjandi, Parvin Asadzadeh, Gray, Cindy M. and Chalmers, Matthew (2019) An N-of-1 Evaluation Framework for Behaviour Change Applications. In: Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Glasgow, Scotland Uk — May 04 - 09, 2019. CHI EA (19). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, LBW1810. ISBN 9781450359719

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Abstract

Mobile behaviour change applications should be evaluated for their effectiveness in promoting the intended behavior changes. In this paper we argue that the 'gold standard' form of effectiveness evaluation, the randomised controlled trial, has shortcomings when applied to mobile applications. We propose that N-of-1 (also known as single case design) based approaches have advantages. There is currently a lack of guidance for researchers and developers on how to take this approach. We present a framework encompassing three phases and two related checklists for performing N-of-1 evaluations. We also present our analysis of using this framework in the development and deployment of an app that encourages people to walk more. Our key findings are that there are challenges in designing engaging apps that automate N-of-1 procedures, and that there are challenges in collecting sufficient data of good quality. Further research should address these challenges.

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