A User-Centered Development Pipeline for Persuasive Systems

This chapter introduces a user-centered approach to designing persuasive systems that help people change their work-related habits. The proposed development pipeline transforms user insights into formal models, making it possible to create personalized and adaptive interventions. The process starts with collecting data through interviews, where users describe their habits and desired changes. These insights are turned into semi-formal models using “Business Process Model and Notation” (BPMN) models and then refined into formal reference nets, a special type of Petri nets. This approach enables creating adaptable and interchangeable system logic for monitoring behavior and triggering persuasive interventions. To implement the system, we use the Renew simulator, which connects reference nets with Java, allowing real-time interactions with sensors and feedback mechanisms following a given persuasion strategy. A key strength of this framework is its flexibility. It can be customized to different users and easily expanded with new features. The approach is demonstrated with a VR-based prototype and an evaluation study design comparing different ways to deliver persuasive cues in the workplace. The findings have the potential to improve the design of persuasive systems that effectively support behavior change with minimal disruption.