Developing an irresistible app, whether it is for the mobile or the desktop platform, or for the increasingly popular world of wearable devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), is a formidable challenge. What are the criteria for developing apps that appeal to the user right out of the box, keep her engaged over time, and have her willingly contribute to their popularity and improvement? At worst, such criteria appear nonexistent, and at best, intuitive but arbitrary.

This book offers a methodical approach to the art of developing irresistible apps, and applies concepts from behavioral psychology and the practice of pattern-based design to provide concrete guidelines. Chapter 1 starts off with a discussion of the psychology behind the motivation. This is followed in chapter 2 by an introduction to motivational design patterns. Using the author’s own words: “Motivational design patterns describe common aspects of software that fulfill basic needs within all of us.”

Chapters 3 through 11 present 27 patterns, grouped according to their intended use. For example, chapter 4, “Gameful Patterns,” identifies those that cover “gaming with quick feedback loops,” while chapter 5, “Social Patterns,” discusses the user needs for social interaction. In addition, there are three chapters on dark patterns, where the design may promote the waste of time, money, or social capital, and hence should be avoided. There may be other patterns out there, and the author presents a framework for readers to identify their own.

After the patterns are described, the author shows how motivational patterns can be used to analyze existing apps as well as design new “irresistible” ones in chapters 12 and 13. Chapter 14 offers a recap and general advice on using a motivational pattern-based approach going forward.

A lot of material is presented in this relatively short paperback. Almost every topic is presented with current real-life examples. The introductory chapters sufficiently encapsulate the relevant background needed from behavioral psychology. Individual pattern descriptions are well organized, starting with a clear summary, followed by a section on how the pattern is used and what to watch for. The chapters on analyzing a couple of popular apps and designing a couple of new ones succeed in bringing together all of the concepts presented so far cohesively, though the latter chapter could have used a bit more explanation. Note that while many mock-ups are provided, there is no code to go along with the examples. Given that the book covers design and not specific implementations, the lack of code is quite acceptable.

A few criticisms are in order. First, possibly due to the amount of material covered in the initial chapters, a lot of it feels like an introductory section of a thesis. Instead of starting with a definition, maybe starting with an example of the concept in use and then ending with the definition would have made it easier to internalize. I really appreciated chapters 12 and 13, which show motivational design patterns in action, but felt that they came in as an afterthought. After reading the book, I found that reading these chapters first and then referring back to the individual pattern descriptions made much more sense.

Overall, I found the book fairly useful, and it will be interesting to do a motivational analysis of the book itself as an app.