July 11, 2019
A better way to think about visualizing success is to visualize an outcome and work backwards from there. To do this, we need to know what a great outcome looks like. Often we’re working towards specific KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators), which are metrics we evaluate to see how successful the actions we take are.
Find the Metrics that Matter
We’ve had some AMAZING conversations with some of you and we want to share the important considerations we all should make when it comes to KPIs:
- Identify multiple measures of success. Individual KPIs are helpful, but don’t give you the whole picture. What if your conversion rate went up, but you’re user engagement plummeted? We need to identify how users are feeling about an experience through multiple avenues to understand whether you’ve improved the whole design, or just a single output. We use Helio to evaluate quantitative and qualitative metrics to understand both how a user interacts with a product and how they feel about it.
- Be proactive about measuring success. Instead of measuring outputs only at the end of a project, you can gauge your success in the middle of production to learn if you’re setting yourself up for a win down the road. Determine what results you’re trying to achieve, then ask what factors cause those results and how you can track those factors. If conversion rate is your overall metric of success, then an early measure could be how many people enter your conversion flow each day!
- Be flexible with your KPIs. We’re always learning and growing! One metric of success may always be connected to your business goals, though others may become meaningless depending on what new goals you’re trying to achieve. We’ve learned that your goals, and therefore your performance indicators, can change! If you’re goals change from quarter to quarter, don’t be afraid to explore different ways to measure your success.
When you’re exploring the landscape for your upcoming project, always start by determining the different ways your outcome can be successful and how you can track them early and often. This will not only give you a strong objective, it will build confidence with your stakeholders that you understand their needs and can find out how to meet those needs.
This sets you up for success when evaluating your opportunities in a project! Understanding your goals means you can identify the opportunities which will help you get there. Join the conversation and let us know how you layout your opportunities at the beginning of a project!
Go win your day,
Morgan & The Helio Team
