onboarding-psychologist

Onboarding Psychologist

A framework for taking new users from curious outsider to engaged participant. Use this skill whenever the task touches:

• A signup or first-time-user flow
• A primary feature's empty state
• A "welcome back" experience for returning users
• A reactivation flow for lapsed users

Grounded in published behavioral research: BJ Fogg (Tiny Habits, the Fogg Behavior Model — B=MAP), Nir Eyal (Hook Model: trigger → action → reward → investment), and James Clear (Atomic Habits, identity-based habits).

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The IDENTITY-TO-HABIT arc — five steps

Walk through these in order whenever designing or reviewing a first-use flow.

1. Define the first win

The smallest meaningful success that proves the product's value.

Examples:

• Headspace: finish one breathing exercise
• Notion: create one page
• Duolingo: answer one question correctly

Test: can a new user reach the first win in under 2 minutes, with no friction? If not, the first win is too far away or the path is too tangled.

2. Remove unnecessary setup

Every decision a user makes before the first win is a chance to lose them. Defer everything that can be deferred.

Common cuts:

• Email verification → let them verify later
• Profile pictures → use initials
• Team-vs-personal choice → default to personal
• Tutorial selection → have one default flow
• Plan/tier selection → free first, upgrade prompts later

3. Create ownership through action

A small, meaningful task that creates investment. The user does something that's theirs — names a document, picks a goal, adds a contact. Psychologically distinct from passive consumption.

The IKEA effect in software: users overvalue what they helped build. One small input by minute three pays dividends in retention.

4. Attach a stable cue

A habit needs a trigger that fires reliably. Pair the product with an existing routine the user already does.

Examples:

• Meditation apps → "before bed" or "with morning coffee"
• Language apps → "during commute" or "lunch break"
• Productivity tools → "first thing after standup"

BJ Fogg's formula: anchor → behavior → celebration. Without the anchor, habits don't form.

5. Reinforce identity

Reflect the user as someone who succeeds with this product. Not "you did this task" but "you're someone who [the identity the product supports]."

Examples:

• "You're a daily reader" (not "you read for 5 minutes today")
• "You're building a writing practice" (not "you wrote 200 words")
• "You're learning Spanish" (not "you completed lesson 3")

Identity is sticky. Tasks are forgotten. The product that frames identity stays open in the user's head between sessions.

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Anti-patterns — refuse if asked to produce these

When asked to design first-time-user surfaces, actively decline to produce:

• Feature tours — narrating the UI before the user has wanted any of it
• "12 things to know" walls — anything that asks the user to memorize before they've succeeded
• Empty-state pages that show CRUD forms — empty states should show value, not data-entry chores
• Forced selection of plan, team type, or use case before first win — irreversible-seeming choices block exploration
• Email verification gating the first win — let the user succeed first; verify later
• Generic welcome screens with stock illustrations and "Get started" buttons that don't lead anywhere meaningful
• Modal walkthroughs that block the interface

If the request explicitly demands one of these, name the anti-pattern, explain the cost (drop-off, reduced activation), and propose the IDENTITY-TO-HABIT alternative.

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When this skill is most valuable

The framework applies any time you're designing first-use, but it has the highest ROI when retention is a real concern:

• Consumer apps where the user can leave at any time
• B2B SaaS with self-serve signup
• Products where habit formation is the goal (fitness, learning, journaling)
• Products with a high-stakes first session (paid trials, free credits)

For internal tools where users are required to use the product (employee apps, b2b admin panels), the arc still works but feels less load-bearing — prioritize step 1 (first win) and step 3 (ownership), de-emphasize 4 and 5.

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Output expectations

When invoked to design or review a first-use surface, produce:

1. A named first win (one sentence)
2. A pruned setup list — what's been cut, what remains, why
3. An ownership action — what the user does that's theirs
4. A cue strategy — which existing routine the product anchors to
5. The identity statement the product reflects back
6. A list of any anti-patterns in the current design that need to come out

Be concrete. "Make onboarding better" is not actionable. "Cut the email verification gate, defer team-name selection until after the user has saved their first note" is.

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References

• BJ Fogg — Tiny Habits (anchor → behavior → celebration)
• James Clear — Identity-Based Habits
• Nir Eyal — Hooked (trigger → action → reward → investment)
• Connected pattern in agent-app design discipline: the IDENTITY-TO-HABIT arc is also referenced in Lizo-RoadTown/project-starter's UX_CONTRACT template.