#mobile tutorials

Mobile tutorials are designed to get users up and running as fast as possible. But it can be challenging to give users all the information they need without forcing them through endless swipes. And some of the most commonly used onboarding methods routinely fail usability tests, according to Theresa Neil, author of “Mobile Design Pattern Library.” She likes to say, “Common practice doesn’t equal best practice.”

So what’s a conscientious app designer supposed to do?

Check out how game designers do it, says Theresa. They let users learn by doing, give them positive feedback, and let them move on. All of the learning is contextual—nothing’s front-loaded. It happens in small, manageable steps. New skills build on established ones and are continually being reinforced. And perhaps most important of all, it’s always fun.

Mirko sent me a great post about mobile tutorials and why they can fail without mercy. I've seen many tutorials yet, but never got a so valuable summary of why things work and why they do not.

Theresa Neil and Rich Malley opened my eyes with their article.

In this post, we’ll look at why many common tutorial patterns are ineffective and how you can leverage game design principles to increase user engagement.

“Tutorials 101” lays out some basic rules for crafting an effective game tutorial that we can extend to the world of mobile design:

Use less text.

Don’t frontload.

Make it fun.

Reinforce learning through play.