KariGo

Friction-Buster Protocol

A systematic method for identifying, measuring, and eliminating behavioral friction in digital products. Nine steps from diagnosis to deployment.

Identify the Friction Point

Pinpoint the exact moment where the user stalls, hesitates, or abandons the flow. Surface the behavioral bottleneck, not the feature gap.

Map the Emotional Arc

Chart the user's emotional state before, during, and after the friction point. Frustration, confusion, anxiety, boredom - name the exact feeling.

Define the Desired State

Describe what 'smooth' looks like for this specific moment. The user should not have to think, guess, or wait.

Strip to the Atomic Action

Reduce the required user action to its smallest possible unit. One tap, one keystroke, one glance. If it needs two, it is not atomic.

Remove All Context Switches

Eliminate every redirect, modal, tab-switch, or tool change between intent and completion. The path from thought to done must be a straight line.

Add Proactive Guidance

Surface the next action before the user asks for it. Pre-fill defaults, show the logical next step, eliminate empty states.

Test the Threshold

Measure the time and cognitive load between intent and completion. If either exceeds three seconds or two decisions, iterate.

Hardened the Flow

Add guardrails for edge cases without adding UI. Error states should resolve silently; the user should never see a failure screen for recoverable issues.

Ship and Monitor Friction Metrics

Deploy the change and track the friction baseline - abandonment rate, time-to-complete, support tickets. If the metric does not move, the friction was misdiagnosed.

Sourcing Nodes

Supply chain channels mapped by margin structure, lead time, and strategic fit.

Node	Margin	Lead Time	MOQ	Best For
D2C (Brand Direct)	45-55%	14-21 days	500 units	Hero products, private label
Third-Party Logistics (3PL)	35-42%	7-14 days	None	Fulfillment, multi-channel
OEM / Contract Manufacturing	50-65%	30-60 days	3000 units	Custom formulations, hardware
Wholesale / Distributor	25-35%	5-10 days	100 units	Retail placement, tested products
Print-on-Demand / DTF	60-75%	3-7 days	1 unit	Merch, low-risk testing
Local / Artisanal	55-70%	7-21 days	Negotiable	Premium positioning, story-driven brands

Pricing Math

Landing Price (D2C)

COGS x (1 + Margin Target)

$12.50 x 2.2 = $27.50

Includes fulfillment, packaging, buffer

Wholesale Price

Landing Price x 0.5

$27.50 x 0.5 = $13.75

Standard keystone for retail partners

Minimum Viable Margin

(Revenue - COGS) / Revenue

($27.50 - $12.50) / $27.50 = 54%

Target floor is 50% gross margin

Breakeven Units

Fixed Costs / (Price - Variable Cost)

$15,000 / ($27.50 - $14.00) = 1,111 units

Recoup upfront investment