UserZoom presents
An essential guide to UX measurement
How to take the invisible and make it measurable
Introduction
User experience (UX) is now widely recognized as being essential to business strategy and is recognized for having a positive impact on a number of key performance indicators and business goals. However, data compiled in our UX 360 report found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of digital experience professionals wish they could prove the value of UX to leadership.
Executives are only likely to continuously invest in UX if they see tangible results. Therefore it’s crucial for digital experience professionals to demonstrate the value of UX improvements in an analytically rigorous manner that’s directly tied to business goals.
The problem? While 59% of digital experience professionals say executives at their organization have metrics to evaluate UX performance, they are relying on KPIs that aren’t directly tied to UX.
They tend to rely on customer satisfaction, product or site analytics, and outcomes like sales or retention. These measures can’t provide a standard that’s specific to UX performance, nor can they provide guidance on how to improve it. Many UX research and design teams don’t know how to measure; some design teams don't believe it's possible.
In this essential guide, we’ll offer practical guidance for launching, managing, and scaling a UX measurement program. One that helps you drive a roadmap of UX improvements and secure the budgets you need to run larger-scale research projects.
Table of contents
Why do we need to measure UX?
User experience has historically been an invisible factor.
The effect of any improvements made to the user experience can be intangible. You could make small changes to a design and not have a clue whether those tweaks directly impact the user experience and your business KPIs.
Marketing brings conversion; they bring opportunities and lead data to the table.
The sales team brings bookings, revenue, and customer retention to the table. For UX research and design teams, being able to bring data that makes sense to the business—and speaking their language—is a big challenge.
If we run usability testing and make a change to a website that presumably improves the user experience based on our observations, how do we really know the change has worked?
By implementing a UX measurement program tied to business KPIs, you put a numerical value on UX improvements that you can track and manage.
An analytically rigorous measurement program gives confidence in design decisions.
You have concrete evidence to support that one UX change made headway on a specific KPI—and data to sell that to leadership teams and stakeholders.
Increasing demand from the C-suite.
Growing recognition from the C-suite of the impact unique, human-centered insights can have on the company’s bottom line means that design leaders will face increasing demand for them. As one Medtech CEO put it, ‘If I don’t have robust data on whether my products are improving the lives and outcomes for my patients—and doing so better than my competitors—then shame on me.’
From McKinsey & Company
Made to measure: Getting design leadership metrics right
UX measurement also optimizes team resources. If you know an experience you tested was a categorical success, you have more confidence in decision-making. Your team will know what improvements to scale and prioritize.