Case Study
Applying B = MAP
Passkey adoption stalled despite being "easy." Shifting to motivation-driven messaging drove a 30% lift and 6M enrollments.
Summary
Password recall was CVS's #1 cause of digital sign-in errors — 75% of all sign-in errors and 30% of support comments — while three business units each maintained separate authentication code. I led design and research for CVS's passkey (passwordless) sign-in from initial technology evaluation through MVP launch, then a second research phase that rebuilt the adoption messaging using B.J. Fogg's Behavior Model (B = MAP).
Problem
The MVP passkey prompt was rated "easy" in usability testing but rejection rates still ran 83% on CVS.com and 70% of CVS Specialty users stayed on email+password. Comprehension testing showed why: the messaging ("Go Passwordless") named the mechanism, not a reason to switch — it addressed Ability but not Motivation, and B = MAP predicts behavior fails without both.
Approach
I rewrote the heading to target the actual pain point users felt ("Tired of resetting your password?"), replacing a single feature-first paragraph with three scannable benefit cards (Simple, Secure, Private) to cut cognitive load. I also moved the prompt to fire during password reset — when users were already re-authenticating via one-time passcode — so it met security requirements while reaching people at their moment of highest motivation. I validated the redesign against the original in an 80-participant unmoderated A/B usability study before rollout.
Outcome
The redesigned content tested significantly better on ease (3.4 → 4.8/5), trust (3.0 → 4.4/5), and likelihood to recommend (3.8 → 4.8/5, all p < 0.01), and drove a 30% lift in adoption after launch. Six months post-rollout: -18% password reset traffic, -10% password-related support comments, -66.96% password-triggered sign-in errors, and +6M passkeys created. The pattern has since scaled to three CVS lines of business, replacing what had been three separately maintained sign-in implementations.