Presentation to the Cleveland chapter of the User Experience Professionals Association, Parma Ohio, 23 June 2016.

1. USER ONBOARDING
Patterns and Anti-Patterns Explored
Paul Sherman
UXPA Cleveland
June 23, 2016

2. 2
Ever start a new app and see
something like this?

3. You just got onboarded.
In this case, poorly.
3

4. What is this
onboarding thing?
Why is it so
important?
A model for adoption-
abandonment.
Onboarding principles,
patterns, and some
anti-patterns.
OBJECTIVES
http://bit.ly/28LWXFs 4

5. Trained as an aviation human factors researcher.
I’ve built small and large UX teams.
Teach at Kent State’s UXD program.
Provide user experience research and design consulting.
5
ME

6. 6
I’m also a Pixar plot device.

7. Onboarding
7

8. The process of getting people to
adopt your application or service.
8

9. When you’re
onboarding the
user, you’re
trying to get
them to like
and want your
product.
9
http://bit.ly/28MV6Ephttp://bit.ly/28T2blZ
Random cuteness

10. You know onboarding is
important.
How important is it?
10

11. It’s quite literally
a matter of
survival.
The average
app loses 95%
of its user base
within a few
months.
11Andrew Chen & Ankit Jain, http://bit.ly/1Hq53AR
Percentageofusersstillactive
Days since app install

12. “Users try out a lot of apps but decide which ones they
want to stop using within the first 3-7 days.”
“The key to success is to get the users hooked during
that critical first 3 - 7 day period.”
- Ankit Jain
12

13. A model for adoption vs.
abandonment
13

14. Users are
constantly -
and somewhat
consciously -
assessing a
product on two
dimensions.
14
High
Time investment
None
Perceivedvalue
Abandonment
zone
Adoption
zone
MY HYPOTHESIS

15. What is value?
“The worth of a good or service as determined by
people’s preferences and the tradeoffs they choose to
make given their scarce resources.”
- Investopedia.com
15http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economic-value.asp#ixzz4CK5qPTFt

16. “People don't buy
products; they buy
better versions of
themselves.”
“When you're
trying to win
customers, are you
listing the attributes
of the flower or
describing how
awesome it is to
throw fireballs?”
- Sam Hulick
16http://www.useronboard.com/features-vs-benefits/

17. If people feel like
they’re nearing
better versions of
themselves, they’ll
adopt your product.
If that better
version of
themselves
appears too far
away - or
unattainable -
they’ll abandon it.
17http://bit.ly/28QuLFS

18. Some Common Onboarding
Patterns
18

19. Not many advantages. It’s out of context. People don’t really remember.
19
MODAL STEPPED TUTORIAL

20. Probably better than
the modal stepped
pattern.
It draws the user’s
attention to key areas
and provides concise,
clear explanations.
But how do you see it
again if you wanted?
20
FIRST-RUN CALLOUTS

21. Another
first-run
callout
example.
21

22. It also draws the
user’s attention to
key areas.
But what if you
wanted to check it
out later?
22
NEW FEATURE CALLOUTS

23. Provides video
and voice.
But…what if I
want to get back
to it?
23
VIDEO TUTORIAL

24. But…what if I want
to get back to it?
Yeah…they got that
covered.
And they have a link
to new features, as
well as a new
feature count badge.
24
VIDEO TUTORIAL

25. Good in theory…
often not so good in
practice.
Just look up “Clippy
and “Microsoft Bob.”
25
CONTEXTUAL ASSISTANCE

26. Gamification and social
comparison trigger
people’s desire to
complete a process, rack
up achievements, and earn
“karma” in some form.
Both can be effective, but
also expensive to
implement.
Social comparison can
also backfire and cause
users to abandon.
26
GAMIFICATION & SOCIAL COMPARISON

27. 27
I earned a badge!
I win the Internet!

28. Showing frequently
asked questions and
answers.
Providing easy
access to user
forums and expert
help.
28
SOCIAL FACILITATION

29. Let the user return to the onboarding content later.
29
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE PATTERNS

30. Let the user return to the onboarding content later.
Incent new users to learn by showing what’s new…or at least telling
them “hey, here’s some new features!”
30
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE PATTERNS

31. Let the user return to the onboarding content later.
Incent new users to learn by showing what’s new…or at least telling
them “hey, here’s some new features!”
Contextual assistance is great in theory, but hard in practice.
31
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE PATTERNS

32. Let the user return to the onboarding content later.
Incent new users to learn by showing what’s new…or at least telling
them “hey, here’s some new features!”
Contextual assistance is great in theory, but hard in practice.
Gamification and social comparison can increase motivation, but are
costly. And social comparison can backfire.
32
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE PATTERNS

33. Let the user return to the onboarding content later.
Incent new users to learn by showing what’s new…or at least telling
them “hey, here’s some new features!”
Contextual assistance is great in theory, but hard in practice.
Gamification and social comparison can increase motivation, but are
costly. And social comparison can backfire.
Social facilitation requires critical mass or it suffers from the “empty
store shelf” problem.
33
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THESE PATTERNS

34. Going Deeper:
Onboarding Principles
34

35. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
35
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES
Partially adapted from Lisa Battle, First Impressions Matter: Onboarding for First Time Users. UXPA 2016.

36. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
36
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

37. Office Lens
Clear value
proposition
37Video

38. Medium
Clear value
proposition
38

39. Amazon Silk
Unclear value
proposition.
I’d like another
browser please!
39

40. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
40
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

41. 41
Aspirational appeal - “my best self”

42. 42
Moqups
It’s all about
them.
Not me and my
better self.
Video

43. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
43
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

44. Fast News
Not really doing, but
close.
44Video

45. Canva
Nailed it!
45Video

46. WordPress
Showing and telling
and warp speed.
I’m not going to
remember any of
this.
46Video

47. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
47
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

48. Moqups again
No signup!
Get in there and
play!
48Live demo

49. Medium again
Did I really have to
go through the
standard, sucky
flow?
49

50. 50

51. 51

52. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
52
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

53. InVision
It’s a content
creation app,
but they gave
me nice
samples to
play with.
53

54. Flipboard
Takes you right
to the content.
The callout
also supports
learning.
54Video

55. Pocket
Big empty.
But at least they
gave me some calls
to action.
55Video

56. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
56
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

57. Moqups again
No commitment until
I’m good and ready!
Also a generous free
plan.
57Live demo

58. Google News
Gives me a good
reason for tracking
my location.
58

59. Google News again
Same flow!
Why would you send
me alerts?
Denied.
59

60. Facebook
Um, no.
60

61. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
61
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

62. Stack
Exchange
Badging
and
reputation
are rewards.
62

63. I couldn’t find any gamification and social
facilitation anti-patterns…
But I’m sure they’re out there.
Maybe Amazon’s reviewer system?
Wikipedia?
63

64. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
64
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

65. Gmail
I started
selecting
multiple items.
It recognized
this and offered
information.
65

66. Me
I did it
wrong!
66

67. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
67
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES

68. InVision
Lower the
perceived cost
of adoption.
68

69. Proto.io
Lower the
perceived cost
of adoption.
69

70. Proto.io
Tips and tricks
and content.
70

71. 1. Present a clear value proposition.
2. Engage emotional and aspirational motivations.
3. Doing is better than showing or telling.
4. Minimize friction and barriers.
5. Stock the shelves. Avoid the empty store.
6. Don’t ask for a commitment before the user is ready.
7. Leverage social comparison and gamification. But don’t be cheesy.
8. Support learning and mastery at the point of need.
9. Share content via different channels to encourage engagement.
10. Measure and test!
71
10 ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES
Partially adapted from Lisa Battle, First Impressions Matter: Onboarding for First Time Users. UXPA 2016.

72. Question and discussion time.
72

73. Paul Sherman
paul@shermanux.com
@pjsherman
Get this presentation:
www.slideshare.net/PaulSherman
73