Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change

by Matt Wallaert

Nudge meets Hooked in a practical approach to designing products and services that change behavior, from what we buy to how we work.

Deciding what to create at modern companies often looks like an episode of Mad Men people throw ideas around until one sounds sexy enough to execute and then they scale it to everyone. The result? Companies overspend on marketing to drive engagement with products and services that people don't want and won't help them be happier and healthier.

Start at the End offers a new framework for design, grounded in behavioral science. Technology executive and behavioral scientist Matt Wallaert argues that the purpose of everything is behavior change. By starting with outcomes instead of processes, the most effective companies understand what people want to do and why they aren't already doing it, then build products and services to bridge the gap.

Wallaert is a behavioral psychologist who has led product design at organizations ranging from startups like Clover Health to industry leaders such as Microsoft. Whether dissecting the success behind Uber's ridesharing service or Flamin' Hot Cheetos, he underscores with clarity and humor how this approach can improve the way we work and live.

This is an essential roadmap for building products that matter--and changing behavior for the better.

Genres: Business, Design, Nonfiction, Psychology, Technology, Startup, Management

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 11, 2019

Reviews

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise here is to think about the product with the end in mind: that end being consumer behavior. What behavior do you wish to alter with the introduction of this product or feature? And Why?

The core to this approach is the Intervention Design Process (IDP) "interventions being the things we build to change the pressures and thus the resultant behaviors."

The concepts are back by solid behavioral research, and the discussions are worth considering, including the ethical implications of altering behavior, and the techniques for introducing various kinds of pressures to nudge and otherwise influence consumers and users to get them to the desired outcome.

The tone was unnecessarily coarse, and the prose was needlessly self-aware and autobiographical. The author may need to get over himself a bit, but the book was nonetheless a welcome examination of this side of product development and consumer behavior.

[Charna Parkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an easy to read approachable framework that I bought more than 30 copies to share with folks from Marketing, Engineering and more across my company.

I ended up getting an audio copy for listening and then used the paper copy to highlight and make notes in, then ended up in my favorite mind map app to connect this behavior change methodology to the way I work.

[Rurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.0/5.0) Read this for a book club I’m a part of and learned a lot! Definitely one of those books that you’ll probably want to revisit multiple times, especially if you’re working on/pursuing an entrepreneurial venture of your own. I really appreciated Wallaert’s casual and snarky tone, which makes it quite readable.

[Samuel Salzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strongly recommend this book! Perfect for anyone who wants to learn a concrete process for creating behavior change inside and outside of your organization.

[MariWabiSabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not crazy about the format or the casual chatty prose for a book that’s pretty formulaic. It seemed more like a rambly blog post that could have been a little more streamlined. Sorry.

[Ryan Novak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid but nothing grounbreaking. Easy and fun to read guide to applied behavioural science from someone who has been doing it since before it was cool. Second half of the book is all application examples which is always fun

[Pradyuman Singh Rajput · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't started the game, Be the ENDGAME

[Amanda Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a landscape designer, I was unaware of how behavioral statements could impact my career. However, the more I dove into this book and digested it piece by piece, I found myself applying it to not only my career but to every aspect of my life. Upon completion of this book, I can confidently say I am only a “stable liker” of one topic which has taught my mind to be thinking in a more challenging yet open way.

[Vovka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent, but too short book on how to design products and experiences so that more people can and will enjoy them. Would’ve been better if done a little more seriously and thoroughly.

[Sergio Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this if:
+++ You are in a position, where you can implement projects in an organization, and you absolutely want to change some things, but until now had no idea, how to approach systematic changes in a way that leads to results. Then is the book for you. Just buy it ;)
+++ You are an UX/UI designer, product designer, product manager or conversion rate optimizer then this book is going to provide clear value. Even if you don't agree about his views on "communication" and "hype".
+++ You are interested in an easy framework to change the behavior of a group (like customers, students etc.) OR you have a general interest in behavioral psychology and marketing. You might even use this method to change your own (bad) behaviors. (Then absolutely also read "Atomic Habits")
+++ You like books that are written in a conversational tone with good storytelling. (The audiobook is super easy to listen to)

Reasons to not like it
- You still have to think of your own use case yourself and how to implement this. Even though the second part introduces concepts, that help to find concrete ideas (like a short intro into identity), it barely touches the surface ... or at least it felt like that to me. So it could be a good idea to continue with some books about psychology, behavior science, decision-making etc.
- Some might feel uncomfortable with the chatty tone. But it's a big plus for me, since it's easier to listen to, and it's easier to consume the knowledge, when the author is not into academic speech.

[Synthia Salomon · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Intervention Design Process is a step-by-step approach to the design of products and services that begins with the behavior you want to promote and then works backward to make that behavior a reality. First, achieve an insight into the gap between the way you want people to behave (your ideal world) and the way they’re actually behaving (the real world). Then write up a behavioral statement formally describing that ideal world. Next, map out the promoting and inhibiting pressures that are preventing that world from coming into being. Then you can start thinking about possible interventions to modify those pressures. Once those interventions have passed an ethical check, you can start trialing them. By the end of this process, you will find one or more interventions that can be scaled up and implemented.”

[Søren Surlykke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really great and interesting topic, but the book is so aggressively "quippy American intellectual" that I wanted to rip my hair out multiple times. The author just keeps getting in his own way in a myriad of ways. From his ehotistical name-dropping, his absurd attempt at trying to be cool, be it with the exaggerated swearing ("wow, this guy is so cool, he is both smart AND says fuck!"), to his attempt at trying to be cool with his examples: "imagine a universe without flaming hot cheetos".. my God.. And that is not even mentioning the abhorrent chapter about "stable (dis)like", which is just a run-on about gate-keeping and telling us how into Johnny Cash he is..

Cut all that and add more concrete examples and this could have been great. I'll think of the principles and try to apply them, but what a waste of a great topic.

2,5/5

[Nellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I liked that the author does not take himself too seriously.

He provides really good insights, I particularly enjoyed his anecdotes from working in Microsoft and his work on the less popular search engine, Bing. The author identifies a process in which we start at the end, with the behavior we want (the user) to do. He then works from there, giving advice on how to create interventions, and later behavioral statements that help create impactful products.

I really appreciated that the author touched on ethical issues with product creation, and shes some light on some problematic behavior changes induced by some *cough* meta *cough* companies.

I did like the first part of the book but the second part with anecdotes, felt a bit dragged out.

[Paulo Peres · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book in a sympathetic format and proposes to have a much tastier language than the Behavioral Science or Behavioral Economy literature. However, the author could use more illustrations and a more visual method to explain the process as the author works, as it is not entirely clear how his creative process is. Even so, it brings some interesting insights from professionals who apply it on a daily basis with practical examples and not just scientific experiments.

I believe that in several themes it extends unnecessarily, causing a little discouragement to finish the chapters.

I recommend it for designers, marketers, product owners, product managers to understand in a more tasting way.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book encloses a few, but handy tips in applied behavioral science:
1. a behavioral statement, very useful to clarify what an organization wants to do.
2. A simple framework to apply behavioral science into well-defined problems (pressure mappings)
3. the role of pilots and triangulating among observations, qualitative and quantitative evidence.
4. something usually not addressed: a) the relevance of identity and belonging, b) competing behaviors.

I did not give five stars because of the way it was written: not so easy to read for a non-English native speaker or non-US resident.

[Andreas Karampatzakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a very easy to read book that I highly recommend to all startup founders and product managers.

I love the idea that “people will do the right thing If you make it easy for them” and the application of psychology principles in product design.

The ideas of promoting / inhibiting factors are well explained with clear examples and a comparison is laid out for what to focus on when building a product.

[Felipe CZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An approach to designing producs that make an impact. First, achieve insights into the ideal world and the real world; then, write a behavioral statement of the ideal, then, map out promoting and inhibiting pressures preventing that world from coming into being, then look interventions to modify pressures, after passing an ethical check, you can trial them and then implement.

[Courtney Connelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about the basics of behavioral science and how it applies to our life and work. I am going to re-read portions of this book to understand and apply it fully, but I really enjoyed this. Matt Wallaert visited my Human Resources class, so I had the pleasure of meeting him and hearing his ideas; his voice is very much present throughout the book!

[Shokai Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how this book was written like you were listening to the author chat about a subject he cares about rather than it being a textbook that covers all of the elements of behavior change design. Too often, books about product design can veer too far in either direction. It ended up making for a good combination of being an easy read with some advanced concepts I hadn't heard of before.

[A.A.B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple book which sets itself a modest goal and accomplishes exactly that. It's short and relevant as a process refresher even for those already familiar and actively practicing the described techniques.

The narrative is engaging enough to keep the interest and focused enough to keep the length easily manageable in a busy schedule.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Design better products by starting with the result you are trying to achieve. Some good examples make this helpful for anyone who desires to change user behavior. Written by a social scientist and fan of flaming hot Cheetos.

[Daniel Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely actionable primer of behavioural psychology. The writer is quite left of field in his political rants, but it's fresh to see someone present their personality so strongly in an otherwise stern and factual genre. The second half of the book is not for everyone, and he admits that.

[Mohammed Nabeel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very simple stepwise guide to create a product which would create a behaviour change. It's pretty clear and straightforward, and tries to untangle some of the dilemmas which would arise when following the step. It's a great book for someone looking for start-up idea valuation.

[Jeramey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insight into product development and understanding how to specifically encourage desired behaviors, but the author's frequent asides are totally unnecessary and a distraction. Wallaert forces his personality onto you with explicit asides instead of just letting it come out through his writing.

[Swan-lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only did I find this book a great intro to behavioral science, but it’s also pleasantly ‘human’. I felt like I was in conversation with the author, who lets his own values and ethics shine through his work.

[Dax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaking brilliant!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for anyone who wants to conscientiously run experiments and make changes to your product through changing consumer behavior.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Reads very easily and does a great job of explaining theory in an approachable way that can then be applied by any of us for a huge variety of tasks.

[Astri · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a psychology book than a product development book

[Alexandre Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything we create, we create to change behavior