Effort: Medium
What to notice
Show a completed example and let people inspect the result of one change.
Where it fits
- Fits
- First-time visitors to creation or analysis tools with unfamiliar outputs.
- Use it when
- When seeing an output helps visitors decide whether to try.
- Avoid it when
- When a sample cannot run without access to real data.
How to build it
- Prepare clearly labeled sample data, separate from production.
- Expose one editable value with its result alongside.
- Offer reset and a path to start with personal data.
Measure
- Main metric
- Share of eligible visitors starting their own task
- Guardrail
- Sample/production confusion and time to start
- How to measure
- Allocate comparison groups before exposure and use equal follow-up and eligibility. Track Share of eligible visitors starting their own task alongside Sample/production confusion and time to start.
When it backfires
Do not attach hidden live submissions to an example.
Alternatives
Theory behind it
Playful interface heuristics
Adapt sources of game enjoyment into small experiences serving the user’s goal.
Practitioner framework
Cognitive load
Searching for a procedure can consume resources needed for learning.
Limited evidence
Evidence limits: An editorial web application; conversion effects on this interface are unmeasured. These heuristics derive from early games; effects on a modern landing page are unmeasured. Do not force play on task-focused users.