The Trigger Map
Ever opened the fridge when you weren't hungry? Or launched YouTube for "just a couple of minutes" and ended up an hour later? You didn't consciously decide to. A trigger just fired.
Behavior is always initiated by something. And to influence that behavior, you first need to find that initial spark. That's exactly what a Trigger Map helps you do.
Triggers are stimuli that prompt a user to act. They fall into two main types:
External Triggers
These are everything that comes to the user from their environment and directs them towards your product. They most often initiate the first contact or bring a user back after a long break.
Ads, notifications, recommendations, media mentions.
Internal Triggers
These are thoughts, feelings, habits, and needs that arise inside the user, compelling them to return to your product on their own. They are the key factor for user retention and habit formation.
Boredom: The desire to find a new activity within an app while waiting.
Problem-solving: Searching for a solution to a task your product can simplify.
Self-improvement: The desire to learn a new skill or achieve a goal using the product (e.g., learning a language for career growth).
Morning routine: The need to check new messages or update information in an app right after waking up.
If a user opens your app only when they're feeling down, that's not a bug. That's an internal trigger at work. External triggers initiate the first contact; internal triggers keep users engaged long-term.
How to Identify User Triggers
To truly understand what drives your users, you need to dig deep:
In-depth User Research
Conduct in-depth interviews, focus groups, surveys, and empathy mapping. Immerse yourself in your user's world to understand their thoughts, feelings, problems, and daily routines. Ask questions like:
When was the last time you used the product? What happened just before that?
Where are you usually when you open the app?
Do you have a routine that includes this product?
What most often reminds you about the product (e.g., notifications, conversations, ads)?
What triggers your interaction: a notification, a specific task, another app?
Are there times when you open the product "on autopilot"? When does this happen?
What daily actions almost always lead to opening [your product]?
Have there been times when you wanted to use [your product] but didn't? What stopped you?
Did you receive a push notification and ignore it? Why?
Behavioral Analysis
Use product analytics to track user paths, their most frequent actions, and "pain points" where they stop interacting.
Brainstorming
Gather your team and brainstorm all possible scenarios, thoughts, emotions, and external events that could lead to product use. You can use the interview questions above as a guide.
Populate the Map
Systematize the insights you've uncovered, organizing them according to trigger types.
Applying It in Product Design
Creating a Trigger Map
A Trigger Map is a tool that helps you systematically identify all the signals that prompt users to engage with your product. You can create your map in several formats, depending on your team's preferences and tools:
Note
If you have only a few triggers, a text document with headings and bulleted lists can work just fine.
Table
This is the simplest and most common option. You can use spreadsheets (Google Sheets, Excel) or online whiteboards (Miro, Mural).
Mind Map
This format is great for brainstorming and visualizing connections between triggers. Your product would be the central branch, with sub-branches for external and internal triggers, and then more detailed branches for each type.
CJM
Customer Journey Maps often include sections for "pain points" and "motivations," which are very similar to triggers.
Your completed Trigger Map is a powerful tool for strategic product planning and optimization. It helps you focus on your users' true needs and motivations.
Use the insights from your map to:
Develop new features or enhance existing ones.
Create personalized marketing campaigns that truly resonate with users.
Optimize the user journey and interface for smoother, more intuitive interactions.
If you're reading this, you've already covered 30% of this guide – putting you far ahead of many professionals! You've grasped the fundamentals of behavior, triggers, and habits. This is a powerful foundation.
Up next are the most practical tools, which will show you why certain actions don't happen and what exactly you need to change to make desired behaviors occur.
