Framework · Octalysis · Actionable Gamification
Octalysis Strategy Dashboard
Before choosing any technique, Chou defines five things with every client: ranked Business Metrics (the Game Objective), Users (players and segments), Desired Actions (Win-States, by phase), Feedback Mechanics (each acting as a trigger) and Incentives (rewards ranked from abundant to scarce). Anything that drives no Desired Action is cut.
Plain label: metrics, users, actions, feedback and rewards defined firstAlso known as: Strategy Dashboard, Game Objective, Win-States
The five elements
| Business definition | Game translation | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Business Metrics | Game Objective | Quantifiable, ranked, testable; outcome metrics outrank the metrics that only enable them |
| Users | Players | Defined segments; at Level III each segment gets its own map |
| Desired Actions | Win-States | Listed in order, grouped by phase; each committed action is a Win-State |
| Feedback Mechanics | Triggers | Each carries a Core Drive and must prompt a further action |
| Incentives | Rewards | Ranked from abundant to scarce; scarce rewards go to the biggest actions |
Source: OCT-M03 (Actionable Gamification Ch.17, p.463).
Working rules
- Top-three test: imagine the three highest-ranked metrics hit their targets while the others move only a little. If that still counts as a win, the ranking holds.
- One optimization target per screen. A screen can lift many metrics but can be tuned for only one.
- Cut distractions: any element that drives no Desired Action goes.
- Mediums before mechanics: list every surface (site, email, push, community, events) before choosing mechanics; Chou notes the mechanics list is what most people mistake for all of gamification.
- Position the paid tier as the obvious continuation for users who have already invested.
- Decide the core currency first and park ideas whose intent is clear but whose mechanics are not.
- Keep it living: re-run the Dashboard whenever offers, actions or rewards change.
In Gamify It [Analyst]
The Product Passport plays the Dashboard's role: the value event, the Desired Actions by stage, the feedback surfaces and the reward inventory are captured before any technique is recommended. Typed notifications follow the same rule (OCT-M27).
Limits
What we don’t claim
- Octalysis is a practitioner framework built from observing games, not a validated scientific model.Actionable Gamification Ch.15, pp.399-400
Sources
Actionable Gamification · Yu-kai Chou
Ch.17, p.463 · Ch.17, p.464 · Ch.17, p.465 · Ch.17, p.467 · Ch.17, p.468 · Ch.17, p.469 · Ch.7, p.146
Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.
Your product
Find the stage your product is stuck in
Gamify It reads your product, picks the one move that matters at its stage, and sizes the test to your traffic. Connecting is free; a Pro subscription starts it.