Think back to the last time you drove a friend home.
You drive along. They give you directions. You make it there just fine.
But the next time you go to pick them up… could you get there without GoogleMaps?
I’m betting the answer is no.
And if you’re a banking professional in charge of technology walkthroughs, that answer should alarm you.
The Biggest Problem with Current Tech Walkthroughs
Most tech walkthroughs are like Google Maps — they’re really handy when you’re using them, but they don’t help you actually learn the route. Or in the case of banking, the fintech product.
Here’s why that matters:
Unlike GoogleMaps, your customers aren’t going to turn to your self-serve support resources everytime they need to complete a banking transaction.
Your tech walkthroughs need to do more than guide your users through a process. They need to educate and build confidence.
Building confidence through repetition
Think about the last time you learned a skill — like playing guitar.
You have to practice to be able to actually play. And then practice some more before you can confidently play.
The same holds true for learning how to use new tech.
This means you need to get your customers & staff to use your simulations repeatedly to build their confidence using your products.
The problem is (unlike learning to play guitar) learning about banking technology is well... boring.
Nobody wants to spend their free time learning about how to use remote deposit capture.
So in addition to rewarding customers for engaging — you have to make the process of learning interesting. One way to do that is by adding a challenge.
Why challenge matters
As humans we’re hardwired to want to overcome challenges.
The scientific theory that explains this is called Flow Theory.
Basically, the theory states that when we are able to overcome a challenge, the experience is so enjoyable that we will continue to try to overcome challenges — even without an external reward.
“Flow: the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
In other words, the fact that we enjoy challenge means we’ll engage repeatedly just to master the skill and overcome the challenge.
This means that if we add an element of challenge to our tech walkthroughs customers & employees will engage repeatedly just to overcome the challenge — even without an external reward.
The importance of practice
An important caveat of flow theory is that the level of skill must match the level of challenge.
This means when we’re designing tech walkthroughs, we need to give people a goal and sufficient opportunity to increase their skills and practice achieving it.
It’s time to get rid of the blinking light
Most tech walkthroughs follow the same formula: there’s a blinking light that shows users where to click next.
We know this doesn’t work. Following a blinking light doesn’t teach you how to use the product; it teaches you to follow the blinking light.
The problem in the past has been that alternatives to blinking light demos have been expensive and time-consuming to create.
But that’s not really the case anymore.
There are software options (like LemonadeLXP) that don’t require you to sacrifice quality for speed & cost.
Putting it all together: a recipe for effective technology walkthroughs
Let’s quickly re-cap the scientific theory we just covered.
People enjoy the experience of being challenged when:
They have a clear objective
Their level of ability is matched by the level of challenge — or — there is adequate opportunity to increase their level of ability
They get feedback on their progress
Now let’s look at how we can directly apply this theory to digital product simulations. We’ve found the best way is to increase challenge without compromising speed-to-market & cost is to have different “modes” to your simulations, that function a bit like levels in a video game.
For example, LemonadeLXP demos have 3 modes or levels:
Guided Practice
Play Mode
Real Challenge
Here’s how (and why) they work:
Guided Practice
Similar to a blinking light demo, this is a practice mode that gives users clear directions on how to complete an activity. The idea of this round is to give users a chance to practice; to level up their abilities so they can master the next round.
Fig 1. Example of a guided practice mode in LemonadeLXP
Play Mode
After a user has mastered the guided practice round, they’re directed to a play mode which mimics a real-world interaction with the product. All the guiding tips are removed, and users must complete the action without any hints.
In addition to removing the guiding tips, there is an added challenge: users can only make a certain number of mistakes before they need to restart. This not only ups the challenge, it gives users feedback on their progress. Users are also prompted to re-take the guided practice mode if they lose all their lives, which encourages repeated play and mastery.
Fig 2. Example of the same screen in play mode in LemonadeLXP
Real Challenge Mode
After a user successfully completes play mode they can be directed to the actual live product. This encourages users to take the final step and actually try the product — encouraging adoption at the moment they hit flow.
Fig 3. Prompt to try out the real product after a successful play mode is completed
The Bottom Line
Effective tech walkthroughs use the basis of flow theory to create an experience where learners engage repeatedly and master the product.
In other words, they give users a challenge, opportunity to practice overcoming it, and feedback on how they can master the skill.
“Conditions in which flow happens are characterized in the literature by an optimized level of challenge, a feeling of control adapted to the learner, a touch of fantasy, and feedback of the system.”
Using flow theory not only increases engagement with your tech walkthroughs — it ensures people understand and feel confident using your products.
And that means they’ll be a lot more likely to actually adopt and use those products regularly in their day-to-day lives.
