BJ Fogg Behavioral Model

Communications Management Complexity

Maria Hrabikova

Community Champion

Ricany U Prahy, Prague, Czechia

I recently came across the BJ Fogg Behavioral Model, and was surprised by how the model is helpful in project environments. The model breaks behaviour down into three elements: motivation, ability, and prompts, and suggests that people adopt new behaviours only when all three align.

Behaviour = Motivation + Ability + Prompts

https://www.behaviormodel.org/

In project management, we often focus on motivation and communication. Still, the model is a reminder that ability and simple, well-timed prompts can be far more decisive during UAT or go-live.

It made me reflect on how often adoption issues are framed as resistance when, in reality, the behaviour isn’t easy enough or the prompts aren’t embedded in the workflow.

I’m curious - have you discovered any new models or techniques recently that reshaped how you approach your projects?

Thank you,

Maria

Posted: Dec 1, 2025 4:04 PM (Updated by author: Dec 1, 2025 4:22 PM)

Sort By:

Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa

Community Champion

Program Manager| HARPER SRL Santo Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic

The Fogg model is a great reminder that adoption issues aren’t always “resistance”, often the behaviour simply isn’t easy enough or well-prompted. I’ve paired it with the EAST framework (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely), which reinforces the same idea: design environments where the right action is the easiest action. It shifts change management from pushing motivation to reducing friction, and that’s where adoption finally sticks.

...

1 reply by Rafael Silva

Dec 02, 2025 8:57 PM

Rafael Silva

...

I wasn't familiar with this framework. How has your experience been with its adoption? What was the toughest challenge you faced when applying it? From what I've read, I understand it's more suited to changes related to regulations or subtle adjustments, rather than large-scale organizational transformations.

Regards

Posted: Dec 2, 2025 6:32 PM

Rafael Silva PM Specialist| Vauxoo Colima, Mexico

Dec 02, 2025 6:32 PM

Replying to Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa

...

Posted: Dec 2, 2025 8:57 PM

Maria Hrabikova

Community Champion

Ricany U Prahy, Prague, Czechia

Thank you for your question, Rafael.

The BJ Fogg Behavioral Model can help us analyze our target users' motivation and ability. The goal is to create a cycle that, if successful, will reinforce positive behaviours and help users motivate themselves to act, so the model is beneficial for complex transformational projects, too. For instance, the model can help us define personas. The purpose of a persona is to connect us to someone who might be different from us.

One of the key lessons I have learned is that we can more easily influence a user's ability to work with the ERP system than we can shape their motivation (ability over motivation). My main takeaway is that I will prioritize enhancing users' skills while also improving their motivation. However, influencing users' motivation is a much more challenging task than improving their ability to use the system. However, in the end, people will have enough ability and/or motivation to change their behavior.

The critical questions are:
a) Do users need more ability?
b) Or do they need more motivation?
c) If they need both, where should I start?
Statement: If you are more motivated to do something, then it will be easier to act.

Posted: Dec 3, 2025 3:06 PM

Please login or join to reply

BJ Fogg Behavioral Model

Sponsors

Vendor Events

Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data

Newsletters