Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

The researchers also found that the complexity of the behavior and how important the habit was to the person greatly affected how quickly the routine was formed.

Stack Overflow devotees write responses in anticipation of rewards of the tribe. Each time a user submits an answer, other members have the opportunity to vote the response up or down. The best responses percolate upward, accumulating points for their authors (figure 19). When they reach certain point levels, members earn badges, which confer speci

Variable rewards must satisfy users’ needs while leaving them wanting to reengage with the product.

Take a minute to consider where you fall on the Manipulation Matrix. Do you use your own product or service? Does it influence positive or negative behaviors? How does it make you feel? Ask yourself if you are proud of the way you are influencing the behavior of others.

REMEMBER & SHARE Triggers cue the user to take action and are the first step in the Hooked Model. Triggers come in two types—external and internal. External triggers tell the user what to do next by placing information within the user’s environment. Internal triggers tell the user what to do next through associations stored in the user’s memory

Keen observation of one’s own behavior can lead to new insights and habit-forming product opportunities.

The ultimate goal of a habit-forming product is to solve the user’s pain by creating an association so that the user identifies the company’s product or service as the source of relief.

6 What Are You Going to Do with This?

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