This task didn't involve extensive deep research, as the app lacked fundamental gamification and habit-forming mechanics. Therefore, I primarily relied on my expertise in behavioral design.

As a Product Designer, my overarching annual goal was to enhance user retention. This led to a core formula for my approach: Retention = Emotion × Habit × Value

Roadmap:

The roadmap focused on three key directions:

• Boosting early-day retention by effectively communicating value and habit formation.

• Increasing overall user value.

• Improving long-term retention through social mechanics.

Streak

A Streak is a gamification mechanism that tracks how many consecutive days a user completes any task.

This mechanic perfectly aligned with the first step in the roadmap, being one of the simplest and most effective. Typically, a well-implemented Streak mechanic yields a 20-40% increase in retention.

Voice is a skill that improves through daily micro-practices. A Streak effectively solidifies this habit while a user maintains internal motivation, allowing them to quickly perceive the value of their practice.

Given that the mechanic was already present in the app, it could be enhanced with minimal adjustments.

Onboarding

The Streak mechanic was not natively explained anywhere in the app, so I implemented an automated launch of a short exercise immediately after the main onboarding. This allowed the user to instantly earn their first Streak day, after which we introduced them to the concept in context.

The screen requesting push notification permissions was also moved to this stage, aiming to declutter the main onboarding flow and increase user motivation to grant permissions.

Weekly Streak Widget

I introduced a weekly streak widget on the main screen. This change is designed to significantly boost engagement with the mechanic itself and focus the user on a minimum of a week. Our primary goal is to increase D8 retention, which is when the user transitions from a trial to a paying customer.

Leveraging the Zeigarnik effect, users are motivated to complete all days in their streak → daily micro-practice forms a habit → habit delivers quick results → the user perceives a skill change and experiences an "aha!" moment → leading to readiness to pay on Day 8 when the trial ends.

Milestones Rewards

Earning a "flame" (or streak indicator) provides the user with a daily hit of dopamine. However, monotony can reduce dopamine production over time. To counteract this, we introduced milestones with variable rewards. This adds a "goal gradient effect" (motivation significantly increases as one approaches a visible goal) and also enhances the fear of losing what has already been earned (loss aversion).

Triggers

The action is present, the reward is present, and the internal trigger is present. To further strengthen the trigger, I decided to add external ones: push notifications and email.

Concurrently with this task, I was developing a systematic approach to communication across various channels (push, email, banners, full-screen messages).

One key mechanism involves using different message types: Motivation, FOMO, Humor, Game, Challenge, Unusual, Personal.

Another is to avoid overwhelming the user with notifications and to monitor their fatigue levels.

Push notifications for the Streak mechanic served as a testing ground for these strategies.