Playbook · Scale
Scale × Start
With traffic to test, optimize the step funnel with A/B tests and counter-metrics, let the interface unfold as users grow, and ask for permissions right after the first value.
- M3 Scale
- Can we scale acquisition, conversion and loops without leaking?
- Start
- Do new users reach their first big win fast, and feel smart doing it?
M3 × Start
The playbook
Goal. Keep activation at target as new channels bring less-motivated users.
Moves. Step-funnel A/B tests read with week-2 retention as the guardrail; an interface that reveals features as users grow GT#37 (Actionable Gamification Ch.10, p.262); permission requests right after the first value HK-TRG11 (Hooked Ch.2); level-matched peer examples in onboarding INF-T-SP-19 (Influence Ch.4, p.108); make the habit-predictive action the easiest path HK-ACT21 (Hooked Ch.3).
Watch. Endgame work belongs later while activation still leaks.
Lead with these moves
- TechniqueEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Practitioner heuristic
Evolved UI (GT#37)
progressive disclosure
Start the interface with two or three core options, never one, and unlock more as users reach Win-States, ending with dense power tools and an opt-in labs area for veterans. Chou's diagnosis is that most products overwhelm beginners and under-serve veterans.
- TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Ask for permission right after the first value
permission after value
Ask for push, email or an install at the moment the user has just received something worth hearing about again, and say what they will get and how often. Never ask on the first screen.
- TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Steer new users down the Habit Path
make the action that predicts retention the easy path
Find the early action that predicts who stays, confirm it with a test, then make it the easiest thing to do in onboarding. The easiest action is not always the habit-forming one: on one network, searching was the likeliest first step, but following accounts built the habit.
Also in season
- Evidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.Endowed progress that credits real stepsa head start you actually earned
- Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.Ask for investment right after the rewardask for effort after value
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.First use as a complete mini-hooklearn-by-doing first session
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Glowing Choice (GT#28)highlighted next step
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Desert Oasis (GT#38)one visually dominant action
- Evidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.Level-matched peers for newcomersbeginners see beginners
- Evidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.User-written goal, shown backgoal in the user's own words
- Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.Reassurance window after commitmentfast first value after sign-up or purchase
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.The 4-second clarity rulenext step obvious within seconds
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Ask for contributions after users benefitcontribution requests after value received
Not now
- Endgame-only work while activation leaksVeterans come from new users who activate; fix the earlier leak first.
- Points, badges or streaksFirst steer new users onto the path your retained users took.
How to measure it
Questions to answer first
- Which onboarding step loses the largest share of the users who reach it, and what does it ask of them?
- How many taps, screens, fields and seconds does it take from the trigger to the reward, compared with two competitors?
- Which early action best predicts that a user is still active weeks later, and is it the easiest path in onboarding?
- When exactly do you ask for an email, push permission or an install? Before the first value, or right after it?
- Does each key screen have exactly one action that clearly stands out, with no more than two or three ways to start?
- Is your first ask one nearly everyone says yes to, and does every following step give something back?
- Do new users type or choose their own goal early, and does the product show it back to them later?
- Can you log who was assigned to and who actually saw each test variant, through a flag tool, an email split or an experiment platform?
Limits
What we don’t claim
- The Hook Model is a practical design tool, not a validated or complete theory of behavior.Hooked, Introduction
- Octalysis is a practitioner framework built from observing games, not a validated scientific model.Actionable Gamification Ch.15, pp.399-400
- Seasons are defaults for the cell. Evidence from your own product can move a technique in or out of season.
- A playbook names candidate moves; which one goes first depends on the binding constraint in your product.
Sources
Hooked · Nir Eyal
Ch.2 · Ch.3
Influence · Robert Cialdini
Ch.4, p.108
Actionable Gamification · Yu-kai Chou
Ch.10, p.262
Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments · Kohavi, Tang and Xu, Cambridge University Press, 2020
Evidence grade A. Robust evidence: replicated, peer-reviewed research.
Source IDs: GT#37HK-TRG11HK-ACT21INF-T-SP-19
Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.
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