In order to successfully onboard a Horizontal productHorizontal product
Definition: Horizontal products can be used by all sorts of people for many different purposes. A vertical product, by comparison, is meant for a specific set of use cases. Most horizontal products are just fancy data structures.
For more details, see Joel Spolsky, the founder of Trello discussing horizontal products.
Another concept that I want to point to here is just the idea of horizontal products having a low floor, wide walls, and a high ceiling. The basic idea is that it should be ea..., we need to deliver an experience that is initially meaningful to groups of people who understand and care about different things.
There are individual differences between new users in their initial user goalsThere are individual differences between new users in their initial user goals
Different people come to the app for different reasons, searching for different information about how it relates to their struggles and goals. Ideally, they should be able to figure out quite quickly that The user has a high expectancy of success in using your software.
One of the products that I work with, GuidedTrack, is flexible in allowing for multiple different use cases. Some people come in wanting to build a prototype for an app, while others start with wanting to run an advanced onli... and People start using an app with different prior skill levelsPeople start using an app with different prior skill levels
One of the companies I work with, GuidedTrack, is a simplified programming language that allows subject matter experts to create web applications, interactive slideshows, and experiments with no prior coding skill. Since it's all done through text rather than a GUI like Qualtrics or Google Forms, it speeds up program construction and gives it some extra power.
If someone starts using it with prior coding experience in any language, they probably already understand core concepts like "use ind.... This makes it difficult to Speak to the user with a shared vocabularySpeak to the user with a shared vocabulary
New users do not yet have the vocabulary to understand the app. They understand the product through the lens of their own goals and what's familiar to them. The company will generally have its own goals, like increasing the frequency of engagement. However, we can't just tell people to use the app every day. The user needs to have a reason to do so, articulated in terms of the user's own goals.
When working with clients, I often Use a badging system as a method of actionable user research to... because there is no single user group to speak to. The Upfront onboarding needs to teach the user how to speak the basic language of the app in a way that makes sense to the user and gives them a solid starting point to learn through exploration.
This points towards the need for an intentional approach to individual differences. I design for successful goal achievement and playstyles that are appropriate for the userI design for successful goal achievement and playstyles that are appropriate for the user
A friend of mine named Javier Velasquez once told me: “Behavioral economics sets up a choice architecture so that people are most likely to pick one specific option. Game designers aim to give users meaningful choices where all of the options are equally valuable, they just represent different play styles that suit each player. There’s a balance there if you want to create engagement in product design.” When he drew this out in my tiny notebook at a conference I knew we were going to be frien....
In order to successfully onboard a horizontal product, we need to increase their skill over time to keep up with their changing goals.
New users do not yet have the vocabulary to understand the appNew users do not yet have the vocabulary to understand the app
Imagine that you are in a foreign country where you don't speak the language. You're hungry and you need to ask someone on the street where to buy some food. You don’t have the words to say it, but you can probably rub your stomach and people will know where to point you.
If the app has sufficiently unique features or design, then encountering those will be like hearing words from a foreign language. If the features or design are familiar carryovers from other products that people are used t..., but as User skill level increases over timeUser skill level increases over time
Imagine that you have just started to use Excel or Photoshop. Both of those apps have an insane amount of functionality, and it would be unreasonable to expect the user to understand what is possible and how to do it immediately. Over time, with continued User Involvement, they will simply grow more comfortable with the app.
The most successful app adoptions come from a project, because they give the user a reason to increase their skills. As they work on their projects, they'll bump up agai..., so does their vocabulary. They are able to conceptualize and express desires that they couldn’t express before, so User goals change over timeUser goals change over time
A user’s goals 1 week into using your app and 6 months are rarely the same. “Elder users” often won’t even retain the goals that they had at the start of their experience. Apps with continued user involvement enable the user to accomplish multiple goals to maintain users through full goal transitions.
New users do not yet have the vocabulary to understand the app. User skill level increases over time, giving the user new vocabulary to conceptualization and express desires that they didn’t ha.... This points towards the need for a Continuous onboardingContinuous onboarding
Horizontal products like Notion, Airtable, Excel, and Obsidian are all powerful/flexible and require learning and expansion of use cases over time to wrap your head around them. Given that, why do they only teach people how to use the app for the first few minutes?
It's not just horizontal products though. Continuous Onboarding applies to most apps that aren't just "open, press a button, and close." Are you continuing to add features over time that would benefit users that are more than a mo... that progressively reveals information as the user develops so they are always becoming more effective users. Even through behavioral tracking, it can be challenging for the app to recognize exactly what the user wants to learn at any given point. This means that there has to be a solid framework for exploratory search, where the user can find what they are looking for on their own or with the help of other users.