Death by Dropdown? Engineer Insightful Shiny Apps with Behavioral Science

Abstract

Opening a Shiny app to endless dropdowns and scattered filters leads to immediate disengagement and feeling like ‘death by dropdown’. This talk introduces the Behavioral Insights Design (BID) Framework, a behavioral science roadmap that transforms overwhelming dashboards into guided user journeys. Using the this approach, we’ll explore five stages together: Interpret user needs through data storytelling, Notice cognitive friction points, Anticipate user behavior, Structure the application, and Validate & empower users. Drawing from established theories and real-world production examples, attendees will see how applying behavioral science can dramatically reduce the time between ‘Where do I even start?’ and ‘Aha, now I get it!’. You’ll leave with practical techniques using the new {bidux} package to help transform user confusion into confident exploration and build dashboards that guide users toward better decisions (and fewer ghosted ones).

More soon!