SUNDAY REWIND: 8 rules for flow in product

What is engagement? Engagement is a series of high-value actions that a user performs to get them closer to a goal or satisfy a need. User engagement measures how frequently and for how long users interact with and perform these high-value actions on your product.

What is flow?

Flow is a concept developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Watch his TED talk here.

In Csikszentmihalyi’s words, flow is “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”

Eight rules of flow for product

Create clear goals and immediate feedback: Make it clear (especially to new users) how your product helps solve or meet their problems. Show your users a path to the finish line and tell them how well they are doing along the journey.

Complete concentration on the task: Every user journey should have a distinct destination. Clear the user’s journey from distractions. Remove unnecessary elements and any action that doesn’t move the user closer to their goal.

Transform time: Use low-effort, habit-building activities like infinite scrolling and in-app notifications. Avoid actions that lead the user outside your product. However, if the user leaves for any reason, give them an easy way to pick back up and regain flow.

Create a rewarding experience: Leverage the copy and design to create an experience that makes the user feel like they are making a good decision and getting a great deal.

Prioritise effortlessness and ease: The experience of your product could paint a picture of the competence of your company and team. Work closely with Engineering & QA to ensure your product is seamless.

Balance between challenge and skills: Provide the tools and information your user needs to succeed in using your product. Create opportunities for small wins, especially for new users.

Develop a loss of self-consciousness: Put yourself in the user’s shoes and pre-empt their expectation at each step. Make your users feel like an expert by foreseeing their questions and reinforcing actions that lead them to their goals.

Develop a feeling of control over the task: Leverage copy and design to assure users that they are allowed to make mistakes without repercussion. Give users a wide range of functionality to adjust your features to suit their specific needs, and ensure that your customer support team is readily available.

Questions to help you get started with Flow

1. What is the experience of new users?
2. Will loyal users get bored?
3. Is my product (too) challenging?

Keep monitoring and optimising till you find the right balance.

Remember that real engagement is vital to the success of your product. You can engineer engagement to stimulate unique experiences for your users by applying the principles of Flow.

Have a read of the full article here. Additionally, explore other articles in our Sunday Rewind content series.