Tools & Templates
- Four‑Fit Validator
- Diagnostic Toolkit
- Behavior Opportunity Size (BOS) Calculator
- Δ‑B (definition & formulas)
- Worksheets in Downloads
Why Tools Matter in Behavioral Strategy
Behavioral Strategy is both an art and a science. While the principles are universal, their application requires systematic approaches, consistent measurement, and iterative refinement. These tools transform theoretical knowledge into practical action.
Benefits of Using Structured Tools:
- Consistency: Apply the same rigorous approach across projects
- Efficiency: Avoid reinventing methods for each initiative
- Quality: Maintain high standards of behavioral validation
- Learning: Build organizational knowledge systematically
- Scale: Enable teams to apply Behavioral Strategy independently
Available Tools
🔍 Diagnostic Toolkit
Interactive decision trees and diagnostic frameworks
Perfect for quickly identifying the root cause of behavioral challenges and determining the right intervention approach.
Includes:
- Master diagnostic decision tree for common problems
- Problem diagnosis tool with severity scoring
- Behavior selection diagnostic
- Solution design friction analyzer
- Organizational readiness assessment
Use When:
- Starting a new behavioral initiative
- Troubleshooting failed interventions
- Assessing team capabilities
- Planning resource allocation
Essential Templates
📋 Problem Validation Interview Guide
Purpose: Uncover genuine user problems and validate problem-seeking behavior
## Opening
"I'm researching how people handle [problem area]. There are no right or wrong answers - I'm just trying to understand your experience."
## Core Questions
1. "Tell me about the last time you experienced [problem]"
- Listen for: Specific examples, emotional reactions, frequency
2. "Walk me through what you did to try to solve it"
- Listen for: Current solutions, workarounds, effort invested
3. "How much time/money/energy have you spent on solutions?"
- Listen for: Quantifiable investment, resource allocation
4. "What other approaches have you tried?"
- Listen for: Solution history, what didn't work
5. "What would change if this problem were solved?"
- Listen for: Value of solution, downstream impacts
6. "On a scale of 1-10, how painful is this problem?"
- Follow up: "What makes it a [number] and not a [number-1]?"
## Closing
"If I could wave a magic wand and solve one aspect of this problem, what would be most valuable to you?"
🔬 Behavior Observation Protocol
Purpose: Document actual behaviors in natural context
## Pre-Observation Setup
- Observer: [Name]
- Date/Time: [Timestamp]
- Location: [Physical/Digital environment]
- Subject: [Anonymous identifier]
## Context Documentation
- Physical Environment: [Space, tools, constraints]
- Social Environment: [People present, social dynamics]
- Temporal Context: [Time of day, day of week, season]
- Emotional State: [Observable mood/energy]
## Behavior Tracking
For each behavior observed:
1. Trigger: What initiated the behavior?
2. Action: What exactly did they do? (Be specific)
3. Duration: How long did it take?
4. Friction: Where did they struggle or pause?
5. Workarounds: How did they adapt to obstacles?
6. Outcome: What was the result?
7. Reaction: How did they respond to the outcome?
## Pattern Recognition
- Repeated behaviors: [List patterns observed]
- Abandoned behaviors: [What they started but didn't finish]
- Surprising observations: [Unexpected actions or approaches]
## Insights
- Key barriers to desired behavior:
- Environmental factors influencing behavior:
- Opportunities for intervention:
📊 Behavioral KPI Dashboard Template
Purpose: Track behavioral metrics systematically
# Behavioral KPI Dashboard Configuration
## Real-Time Metrics (Updated every minute)
real_time:
active_behaviors:
definition: "Users currently performing target behavior"
calculation: "COUNT(active_sessions.behavior_in_progress)"
threshold_good: 100
threshold_great: 500
completion_rate:
definition: "Rolling 60-min behavior completion rate"
calculation: "completed_behaviors / started_behaviors"
threshold_good: 0.7
threshold_great: 0.85
## Daily Metrics
daily:
unique_performers:
definition: "Unique users performing behavior today"
calculation: "COUNT(DISTINCT user_id WHERE behavior_completed)"
comparison: "vs_yesterday, vs_last_week"
avg_behaviors_per_user:
definition: "Average behavior frequency"
calculation: "total_behaviors / unique_performers"
threshold_good: 2.5
threshold_great: 4.0
first_behavior_time:
definition: "Median time to first behavior (new users)"
calculation: "MEDIAN(first_behavior_timestamp - signup_timestamp)"
threshold_good: "< 5 minutes"
threshold_great: "< 2 minutes"
## Weekly Cohort Metrics
weekly:
retention_curve:
definition: "% of cohort still active by day"
days: [1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, 90]
visualization: "line_chart"
behavior_quality:
definition: "Completeness of behavior performance"
calculation: "quality_score_sum / total_behaviors"
threshold_good: 0.8
threshold_great: 0.95
## Monthly Strategic Metrics
monthly:
behavior_evolution:
definition: "How behaviors change over time"
metrics:
- complexity_increase
- time_to_complete_trend
- error_rate_trend
segment_analysis:
definition: "Performance by user segment"
segments: ["new_users", "power_users", "at_risk"]
metrics: ["adoption", "frequency", "quality"]
🗺️ Behavior Mapping Canvas
Purpose: Visualize the complete behavior journey
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BEHAVIOR MAPPING CANVAS │
├─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│ Current State │ Desired State │
│ - What users do now │ - Target behavior │
│ - Frequency │ - Target frequency │
│ - Context │ - Ideal context │
├─────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┤
│ Behavioral Journey │ Intervention Points │
│ 1. Trigger → │ Where can we intervene? |
│ 2. Motivation → │ - Before trigger |
│ 3. Ability → │ - During decision |
│ 4. Action → │ - During action |
│ 5. Result │ - After completion |
├─────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┤
│ Barriers │ Enablers |
│ - Ability gaps │ - Existing motivations |
│ - Motivation conflicts │ - Environmental supports |
│ - Environmental blocks │ - Social influences |
├─────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┤
│ Metrics & Success Criteria │
│ - Adoption: ____% - Quality: ____ │
│ - Frequency: ____ - Retention: ____% │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Measurement Tools
📈 A/B Test Planning Template
For behavior-focused experimentation
experiment_name: "[Descriptive Name]"
hypothesis: "If we [intervention], then [behavior] will [change] because [reasoning]"
control:
description: "Current state"
expected_behavior_rate: 0.0
variants:
variant_a:
description: "What changes"
expected_lift: 0.0
sample_size_calculation:
baseline_rate: 0.0
minimum_detectable_effect: 0.0
power: 0.8
significance: 0.05
required_n: 0
behavioral_metrics:
primary:
- metric: "behavior_completion_rate"
- measurement: "users_completed / users_exposed"
secondary:
- quality_score
- time_to_complete
- repeat_rate
guardrails:
- user_satisfaction
- support_tickets
- error_rate
analysis_plan:
- daily_monitoring
- weekly_significance_check
- cohort_analysis
- segment_breakdown
🎯 Behavioral ROI Calculator
Purpose: Quantify the value of behavior change
Behavioral ROI = (Behavioral Value - Implementation Cost) / Implementation Cost
Where:
- Behavioral Value = (Value per Behavior × Behavior Frequency × Active Users × Time Period)
- Implementation Cost = (Research + Design + Development + Maintenance)
Example Calculation:
- Value per behavior: $10 (e.g., each workout session)
- Behavior frequency: 3x/week
- Active users: 10,000
- Time period: 52 weeks
- Annual behavioral value: $10 × 3 × 10,000 × 52 = $15,600,000
- Implementation cost: $500,000
- ROI: ($15,600,000 - $500,000) / $500,000 = 3,020%
Process Checklists
✅ Four-Fit Validation Checklist
Problem Market Fit
- 20+ user interviews completed
- Problem severity rated >7/10 by majority
- Evidence of active solution seeking
- Current workarounds documented
- Willingness to pay validated
Behavior Market Fit
- Target behaviors clearly defined
- 15+ users observed in context
- Ability assessment completed (>6/10)
- Motivation alignment verified
- Environmental support confirmed
Solution Market Fit
- Behavior-to-feature mapping complete
- Prototype enables <5 min to behavior
- 80%+ users complete behavior in testing
- Friction points identified and addressed
- Users report feeling successful
Product Market Fit
- Behavioral KPIs defined and tracked
- 50%+ retention at 30 days
- Organic growth observed
- Unit economics positive
- Behavior quality maintained
Advanced Tools in Development
🤖 AI-Powered Behavior Analysis
- Automated behavior pattern recognition
- Predictive intervention timing
- Personalized behavior paths
📱 Mobile Research Toolkit
- In-the-moment behavior capture
- Experience sampling methods
- Contextual intervention testing
🌐 Cross-Cultural Adaptation Framework
- Cultural behavior mapping
- Localization validation protocols
- Global scaling playbooks
Contributing Tools
Have a tool that’s helped you implement Behavioral Strategy? We’d love to include it!
Submission Requirements:
- Clear purpose and use case
- Step-by-step instructions
- Example of real-world application
- Metrics for measuring success
Contact: jason@thebehavioralscientist.com
Great tools multiply the impact of good thinking. Use these to transform behavioral insights into strategic outcomes.