VINCENT OLIVE
SPARTED · LEAD PRODUCT DESIGNER

Streaks & Catch-up

Boosting campaign retention

+10%in campaign
completion
Product DesignUX ResearchDataGamificationApp Design System Update
ROLELead Product Designer
COLLABORATIONProduct · Engineering · Business
SCOPEData · Discovery · Prototyping · User Testing · UI · Delivery
Two Sparted phones showing Catch-up and Streaks
01 — THE PROBLEM

Participation drops from day two.

SPARTED campaigns are gamified micro-learning challenges: 3 minutes a day for 5 days. Usage analysis revealed three barriers:

  • Participation drops sharply from the second day.
  • Absences or forgotten sessions interrupt progress, with no way to catch up.
  • A leaderboard that discourages players who start late or fall behind.
DATA · MIXPANEL

Active players per campaign day: average participation on each campaign day, calculated across all clients.

Participation falls from 91% on day one to 15.6% on day five.

Average player participation from campaign day 1 to day 5
FRAMING · CONSTRAINTS

Maintain momentum
while preserving the rules of the game.

The challenge: keep the playful 3-minute daily micro-learning experience and preserve the regularity essential to learning, with no additional configuration for PMOs : the mechanics had to work without any action on their part.

Targets: +5% daily participation and +10% campaign completion.

02 — USER RESEARCH

Understanding why players drop off.

Conversations with players complemented usage data: real-world work constraints, campaigns discovered too late and a feeling of already being out of the game.

RESEARCH · COMBINED METHODS
QUANTITATIVE STUDY250 responses
  • In-app questionnaire with the agreement of several clients.
  • Mixpanel analysis of campaign participation and completion.
QUALITATIVE STUDY15 + 5
  • 15 player interviews and 5 contextual observations at Cultura.
  • Keyword analysis of Productboard client feedback and NPS comments.
FRICTIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE STUDY
  • Limited visibility of campaign launches
  • Frequent missed sessions in demanding work environments
  • A feeling of being irreversibly behind after a missed session
  • Pressure from the leaderboard
  • Perceived lack of time, even for short sessions
02 — PRODUCT DECISION

Rethinking the engagement loop beyond adding catch-up.

Clients and leadership strongly requested catch-up. But allowing all sessions at the end of a campaign could undermine regular learning. I therefore advocated for Streaks alongside it: let players return after an absence while giving them a real reason to play every day.

01 · STREAKS

Make players want to return.

For the first time, reward consistency rather than only correct answers: an active streak, a visible flame and bonus points to encourage daily play.

Onboarding Streaks — 1Onboarding Streaks — 2
02 · CATCH-UP

Make returning possible.

Let players who missed the launch or a day join the campaign instead of giving up because they are already behind on the leaderboard.

A learning trade-off: more flexibility could also weaken the daily habit and the principles of spaced repetition.

Onboarding Catch-up — 1Onboarding Catch-up — 2
03 — VALIDATION

Protecting an experience at the heart of the product.

Daily campaigns are central to SPARTED's value proposition. These two new mechanics had to keep the experience lightweight, the rules easy to understand and play within three minutes. We chose to test in two stages: first, understanding on a prototype, then adoption in a real-world setting.

  • Phase 1 · Prototype Tests: participants immediately understood Catch-up; around half struggled to understand Streaks.
  • Iterations: simpler copy, clearer bonuses and better integration into the game loop.
  • Phase 2 · Field Validation: 8 participants interviewed in a restaurant to check understanding after the adjustments.
8.24/10average rating for the proposed features
10/18promoters among those interviewed
04 — VALIDATED SOLUTIONS

The five key moments.

These two features change the game loop and require clear onboarding. We built a User Journey Map to identify five key moments in each journey, sometimes starting with the notification received before opening the app. For the first time, we also designed push-notification onboarding to introduce new features and their benefits. We worked on notifications, copy and screens at these touchpoints, using the F.O.C.U.S.E.D* method.

Streaks

1Streaks — Push Notification

Push Notification

Introduce the mechanic and its benefit before the app opens.

2Streaks — On Opening

On Opening

Show the inactive flame: play to activate the streak.

3Streaks — After the Session

After the Session

Confirm the streak activation and encourage players to return the next day.

4Streaks — Bonus Points

Bonus Points

Show streak bonus points in the score summary.

5Streaks — Home

Home

Display the active flame and streak progress on the home screen.

Catch-up

1Catch-up — Push Notification

Push Notification

Flag the missed session before the app opens.

2Catch-up — On Opening

On Opening

Present the catch-up objective on a dedicated screen.

3Catch-up — After Each Session

After Each Session

Show the sessions still to catch up on.

4Catch-up — Back to Home

Back to Home

Update the campaign button based on progress.

5Catch-up — Campaign Page

Campaign Page

Update player progress and status.

* Discovery Discipline and the F.O.C.U.S.E.D framework, developed by Tristan Charvillat and Rémi Guyot: a structured approach to Product Discovery, tested at PayPal and deployed at BlaBlaCar.

05 — IMPACT
+10%

in campaign completion.

USER FEEDBACK
“Streak bonus points are really interesting. Some players complain about not getting time bonus points, so this makes up for it! Definitely in favour of releasing these features!”PMO · Eiffage · Phase 1
“I think highlighting players' consistency is a good thing, and catch-up is available when you forget.”Player · Paris Society · Phase 2

Catch-up lets players return to a campaign after an absence. Streaks encourage daily play. Testing helped verify understanding of both mechanics before implementation.