202: Behavioral Design Secrets from YouTube, Google, and Duolingo with Katie Dove

Why don’t users do what they say they’ll do? Why does great UX still fail sometimes? And what do the world’s top companies know about behavior that most of us miss?

In this episode, Sani sits down with Katie Dove, behavioral designer at Irrational Labs, to break down the Three B Framework, a powerful behavioral design tool used by teams at Google, YouTube, and Duolingo. They unpack how context shapes decisions, why psychological friction is often invisible, and what it really takes to drive engagement through design.

If you work in UX, CRO, product, or marketing, this episode will change how you think about user behavior forever.

🔍 What we cover:

• Why values don’t always predict behavior (and why that’s okay)
• The Three B Framework: Behavior, Barriers, Benefits
• The difference between logistical and psychological friction
• Real-world case studies: Google AdWords, ClassPass, Duolingo, top banks
• How to identify the right behavior to optimize
• The psychology of mental models, defaults, and motivation
• Why asking users what they want often leads you astray
• Rapid-fire insights on irrationality, app design, and more

Guest: Katie Dove

Behavioral designer and partner at Irrational Labs
Katie leads behavioral design projects for companies like Google, YouTube, and leading financial institutions. At Irrational Labs, she helps teams apply behavioral science to real-world digital products and services.

🔗 IrrationalLabs.com
🔗 Follow Katie on LinkedIn

No Hacks is a podcast about web performance, technical SEO, and the agentic web. Hosted by Slobodan "Sani" Manic.