Improve RetentionCAUTION

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The instruction file, verbatim from the audited commit — this is the text the model reads, and the surface the audit's instruction layer examines. Quoted here so you can judge it without cloning anything.

---
name: improve-retention
description: 'Diagnose and fix retention problems using behavior design (B=MAP). Use when the user mentions "users sign up but dont stick around", "activation rate", "onboarding friction", "retention metrics", "why users dont complete", "churn analysis", or "aha moment". Also trigger when analyzing cohort retention curves, designing activation milestones, reducing time-to-value for new users, or investigating why users quit after their first session. Covers the Ability Chain, prompt design, and tiny behaviors that compound. For habit loops and variable rewards, see hooked-ux. For intrinsic motivation, see drive-motivation.'
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: wondelai
  version: "1.4.0"
---

# Behavior Design Framework

Framework for designing products that reliably change behavior. Behavior is not about willpower or motivation — it is a design problem with a predictable equation.

## Core Principle

**The Fogg Behavior Model** = B=MAP. Behavior happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt converge at the same moment.

```
            HIGH ┃
                 ┃   ★ Behavior happens
                 ┃  (above the Action Line)
                 ┃
  Motivation     ┃━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ← Action Line
                 ┃
                 ┃   ✗ Behavior fails
                 ┃  (below the Action Line)
            LOW  ┃
                 ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
                 HARD                    EASY
                        Ability
```

**The Action Line:** When motivation and ability are sufficient, a prompt causes the behavior; below the line, no prompt works. High motivation compensates for low ability and vice versa. The reliable strategy is making behaviors easier (move right), not pumping up motivation (move up).

See: [references/behavior-model.md](references/behavior-model.md) when you need the curve mechanics behind this model — the full Action Line math, behavior types (dot/span/path), and a step-by-step failure diagnostic for a behavior that isn't happening.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** The six Quick Diagnostic rows are the single source of score-movers. Rate each pass/fail, then start at 10 and subtract per failing row: low motivation or below the Action Line (rows 1-2) cost **-2** each; prompts, celebration, bottleneck, and scaling (rows 3-6) cost **-1.5** each. A design that passes all six scores 10; one that fails every row scores 0. Map to bands: **9-10** = behavior reliably crosses the Action Line at low motivation, prompts are event/anchor-tied, key actions are celebrated; **5-6** = depends on a motivation spike or optimizes a non-bottleneck factor; **<=3** = core action below the Action Line, prompts are spam, no habit wiring. Always state the score and name the specific failing rows.

## The Three Elements

### 1. Motivation

**Core concept:** Motivation is the energy for action, driven by three core motivators, each with two sides: Sensation (pleasure/pain), Anticipation (hope/fear), Belonging (acceptance/rejection). It is powerful but unreliable.

**Why it works:** Motivation comes in waves — it spikes (New Year's resolutions, product launches) and crashes (day 3, week 2). Products that depend on high motivation fail when the wave recedes; the best designs work at the trough.

**Key insights:**
- "Motivation is unreliable. Ability is not." — BJ Fogg
- Design for low-motivation moments, not peak excitement
- Motivation-first tactics (inspiring videos, aspirational messaging) produce spikes, not sustained behavior
- Match required motivation to behavior difficulty — hard behaviors need high motivation

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Onboarding** | Don't count on the new-user spike lasting | First actions work even when excitement fades |
| **Re-engagement** | Assume returning users have low motivation | Show immediate value before asking for effort |
| **Messaging** | Tap the right motivator | Social fitness → belonging; financial tool → hope |

**Copy patterns:**
- "Takes 30 seconds" (signals ease, lowers motivation needed)
- "Join 50,000 teams who..." (belonging motivator)
- "Don't lose your 7-day streak" (anticipation/fear motivator)

**Ethical boundary:** A fear motivator (the streak pattern above) is fair only when the loss is real and user-owned (their data, their progress); never invent a loss that exists solely to drive a session.

See: [references/motivation-waves.md](references/motivation-waves.md) for the three motivators, motivation waves, and designing for troughs.

### 2. Ability

**Core concept:** Ability is the capacity to do the behavior — a function of the scarcest resource across six factors (the Ability Chain). If any single link is too weak, the behavior breaks.

**Why it works:** Unlike motivation, ability can be systematically engineered: every removed field, eliminated step, and preset default moves the behavior right on the model, crossing the Action Line even at low motivation. The Ability Chain gives you the diagnostic — find the weakest link and fix it.

**Key insights:**
- Six factors: Time, Money, Physical Effort, Mental Effort, Social Deviance, Non-Routine
- Simplicity is a function of the scarcest resource — find the bottleneck, not the most obvious factor
- "Simplicity changes behavior" — BJ Fogg
- Starter Steps: shrink the behavior to the tiniest version (2 minutes → 30 seconds → one field)
- Defaults are the most powerful ability tool — users rarely change them

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Signup** | Cut cost across all six factors | One-click SSO removes time, mental effort, non-routine |
| **Core action** | Fix the weakest link | Mental-effort bottleneck → smart defaults and templates |
| **Enterprise adoption** | Address social deviance | "Your team already uses this" reduces social risk |

**Copy patterns:**
- "One click to get started" (time + physical e

CAUTIONgrade B · trust 89/100 Install with care. The audit found things worth knowing before you trust its output.

What the source does

Filesystem

none-observed

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none-observed

Shell

none-observed

Dependencies

pinned

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none-found

Findings (5)

.agents/skills/37signals-way

.agents/skills/architecture-optimization

.agents/skills/blue-ocean-strategy

.agents/skills/clean-architecture

.agents/skills/clean-code

Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.