Mobile apps Quality Assurance of tomorrow

HOOK METHODOLOGYBY NIR EYAL

Introduction to

What are your apps used for?

• What kind of needs do your apps meet?• What kind of problems do they solve?• When/in what situations do you reach for this

type of app/product?• Does the app/product include any element that

would encourage you to devote your time/effort in using it?

Facts…

• 79% smartphone owners check device within 15 min of waking up

• Cognitive definition of habit: „automatic behaviour triggered by situational cue”

• Customers actions may be engineered

Americans spend 162 minutes on their mobile device per day

Hook’s methodology

For whom is the service designed?

• Who will be the target user (end user) of the service? – Segmentation: defining target group/target groups

– Which needs of the target group does the service fulfill?

– Why may your product be valuable for given target groups?

Workshop: For whom is the service designed?

Create a virtual client: name, age, situational background

3 descriptions:I would like to have/achieve/get <benefit>

In the context of designing an application for each imaginary person define:

3 needs fulfilled by product you design, 3 problems/limits/pain points – that our application will address

3 thoughts that trigger ”pain”

Trigger – event that causes particular action

External – trigger from the outside

Internal – emotion

Trigger

In what moments/situations should our user be willing to use our solution?

Which of the users’ behaviours do we want to transform into habits (habits of using our app/service/product)?

Which situations can be called triggers?

Every time the user <trigger> then <first habitual action>

Trigger

Which of the external triggers can be used (notification, email, note, etc.)? Both conventional and those really weird…

In which moment should they be activated?

How can external triggers be brought closer to the internal ones?

Actions – the process of doing something

Actions…meaning simplest behaviour which the user should exhibit in order to get a reward…Motivators:

– seeking pleasure or avoiding pain,

– seeking hope and avoiding fear,

– seeking social acceptance while avoiding social rejectionHow many steps must the user take before he/she gets a reward?Can this process be simplified or turned into a game? How should a user „act” before he/she gains a reward? Which actions should be rewarded?

• B=MAT • behavior = motivation*ability* trigger

• Fogg's behavior model - behavior happens if – trigger is present – user has sufficient ability – user has sufficient motivation

B=MATTo increase desired behavior • ensure clearer trigger • increase ability • align with motivator Three Core Motivators • seeking pleasure and avoid pain • seeking hope and avoiding fear • seeking acceptance and avoid social rejection Ability is influenced by six factors (at the moment) • Time - how long it takes to complete an action • Money - the fiscal cost of taking action • Physical effort - the amount  of labor involved in taking the action • Brain cycles - level of mental effort and focus required to take an action • Social deviance - how accepted the behavior is by others • Non routine - how much action matches or disrupts existing routines

Reward

Is the reward of variable/random nature? Is the user aware what reward he/she will get? Will the reward be satisfying for the user? Does the user feel pleasure after being rewarded? Was the reward pleasant suprise for the user?

Reward – areas of rewarding

Investment

Investment comes after variable phase of the reward as a result of directly taken actions. It aims at triggering the feeling of expecting a reward (looking forward to be rewarded) in the future, therefore it increases the likelihood of the user reaching out for the service again. Types of investments: Money, Social capital, Personal data, Emotional commitment, Time Effort

User investment

Brainstorm: 3 ideas of small investments to be added to the product so that the user could ” load” them for the future ”use” Evaluate how long it will take from the „investment” to „trigger”

… reputation, skills, data, content, etc.

Habit testing

How can you track/monitor the user’s habit formation?

- Appinsight

- Use pathIs the app used according to your initial assumptions? In which places do users usually quit the app? Which screens trigger most user activity?Does the Investment result in retrieving the user – as planned? Can the time of trigger->investment process be shortened?Can the process be simplified?