Studying Persuasive Systems Design for mobile applications. Case entrepreneur work recovery
Thesis event information
Date and time of the thesis defence
Place of the thesis defence
Martti Ahtisaari auditorium (L2), Linnanmaa campus
Topic of the dissertation
Studying Persuasive Systems Design for mobile applications. Case entrepreneur work recovery
Doctoral candidate
Master of Science Markku Kekkonen
Faculty and unit
University of Oulu Graduate School, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Oulu Advanced Research on Service and Information Systems (OASIS)
Subject of study
Information Processing Science
Opponent
Professor Henri Pirkkalainen, Tampere University
Custos
Professor Harri Oinas-Kukkonen, University of Oulu
Studying Persuasive Systems Design for mobile applications. Case entrepreneur work recovery
Persuasive Systems Design is a model that includes persuasive principles as software features. It is the most used framework for persuasive design. However, there are no definite guides as regards which persuasive features would be suitable for which target groups, and how to implement the features.
Micro-entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs with less than 2 million EUR revenue and less than 10 employees. They often suffer from work related strain. Furthermore, they are under researched as a target group regarding health context. To help them recover from work, an mHealth app was designed as an interdisciplinary effort and a Randomized Controlled Trial was conducted.
The aim of the dissertation research of Markku Kekkonen (M.Sc.) was to create knowledge regarding persuasive design and Health Behaviour Change Support Systems for a specific target group: micro-entrepreneurs. Qualitative data was collected from Participatory design workshops, Focus group meetings, and extensive interviews with the micro-entrepreneurs. Furthermore, quantitative user action/navigation log data with timestamps was collected from the backend server. Participatory design, Exploratory focus groups, Thematic analysis, Process analysis, and Content analysis were used as research/analysis methods. The doctoral dissertation consisted of five original studies.
Participants found the developed app to be persuasive and supportive. However, certain aspects of the app, such as specific features, learning curve, and tailored content could be
improved. Based on the findings of the original studies, a set of best practices for the design and implementation of persuasive mHealth apps was developed.
The doctoral research was conducted as part of the interdisciplinary Promo@Work research project, which was funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland and led by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. This thesis, along with the original studies, presented rich insights as regards persuasive software features in connection to mHealth apps, BCSSs, app development, background theories, target group(s), participant viewpoints/actions, as well as future improvements for similar systems.
Micro-entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs with less than 2 million EUR revenue and less than 10 employees. They often suffer from work related strain. Furthermore, they are under researched as a target group regarding health context. To help them recover from work, an mHealth app was designed as an interdisciplinary effort and a Randomized Controlled Trial was conducted.
The aim of the dissertation research of Markku Kekkonen (M.Sc.) was to create knowledge regarding persuasive design and Health Behaviour Change Support Systems for a specific target group: micro-entrepreneurs. Qualitative data was collected from Participatory design workshops, Focus group meetings, and extensive interviews with the micro-entrepreneurs. Furthermore, quantitative user action/navigation log data with timestamps was collected from the backend server. Participatory design, Exploratory focus groups, Thematic analysis, Process analysis, and Content analysis were used as research/analysis methods. The doctoral dissertation consisted of five original studies.
Participants found the developed app to be persuasive and supportive. However, certain aspects of the app, such as specific features, learning curve, and tailored content could be
improved. Based on the findings of the original studies, a set of best practices for the design and implementation of persuasive mHealth apps was developed.
The doctoral research was conducted as part of the interdisciplinary Promo@Work research project, which was funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland and led by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. This thesis, along with the original studies, presented rich insights as regards persuasive software features in connection to mHealth apps, BCSSs, app development, background theories, target group(s), participant viewpoints/actions, as well as future improvements for similar systems.
Created 19.5.2026 | Updated 20.5.2026