| name | hooked-model |
| description | Use when asked to "build habit-forming products", "Hooked model", "trigger action reward investment", "create sticky behavior loops", or "design habit loops". Helps design products that form unprompted user habits. The Hooked Model (created by Nir Eyal) explains how products create habits through Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment. |
Domain Context
This skill implements a proven product management framework. The approach combines best practices from industry leaders and is designed for practical application in day-to-day PM work.
Input Requirements
- Context about your product, feature, or problem
- Relevant data, research, or constraints (recommended but optional)
- Clear articulation of what you're trying to achieve
The Hooked Model
What It Is
The Hooked Model is a framework for building products that create unprompted user engagement. The core insight: habit-forming products connect to internal triggers through a repeating cycle of trigger, action, reward, and investment.
When a product becomes a habit, users engage without external prompts. They don't need ads, emails, or notifications to come back. They return because the product has become their automatic response to an internal trigger like boredom, loneliness, uncertainty, or FOMO.
The key shift: Move from asking "How do we get users to open the app?" to asking "What internal trigger do we want to own, and how do we become the automatic response to it?"
When to Use It
Use the Hooked Model when you need to:
- Design features that drive repeat engagement (not just one-time use)
- Reduce dependency on external marketing to bring users back
- Improve retention and decrease churn through habit formation
- Understand why competitor products are so sticky (reverse-engineer their hooks)
- Create ethical engagement that genuinely improves users' lives
- Prioritize which features to build based on habit potential
- Increase customer lifetime value through deeper product integration
When Not to Use It
- The product is inherently infrequent (e.g., buying a house, annual insurance)
- Users should consciously evaluate each decision (e.g., financial trading, medical diagnosis)
- Habit formation would harm users rather than help them
Resources
Books:
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
Further Reading
