How to measure the success of digital design

Art may be subjective, but there are definite objective measures for digital design. As is the case with any type of success criteria for digital tactics, goals must be set prior to measurement. Defining benchmarks and projections are paramount to evaluating success.

Success Metrics - Defining key performance indicators for a business is a most important first step in projecting the growth of the business. Success means different things to different types of businesses and across various industries. Of course, most businesses set out to make money; however, the pathway to profit isn't always a straight line. That means there are other measures to consider other than direct revenue from a digital platform. A fledgling business may consider traffic growth, repeat visits, or membership over time to be key performance indicators of success. Success may mean duration of visit or engagement with interactive content.

Video platforms - Advertising-based revenue on a broadband video platform requires video ad views. In general, on an advertising-supported digital experience, the longer users stay engaged, the more likely they are to be exposed to advertisements.

Ecommerce - Even on an ecommerce experience, not all success can be directly measured from sales. Conversion percentage from the shopping cart is an extremely important metric, and one that can be optimized through design enhancements to increase the likelihood that end-users can easily checkout their purchases. Additional measurements include average order value (the total average value of all items in the cart prior to checkout). Similar to an advertising-supported platform, however, engagement with an ecommerce platform often translates into increased sales because the longer the end-user stays engaged, the greater the likelihood that the user will make a purchase.

Qualitative Measures of Design- The success measurements above are quantitative analyses of data collected over time. Some of the most important measurements, however, are qualitative. While quantitative data can reveal what is happening on a digital platform, qualitative data can reveal why its happening. Collecting qualitative measurements of a digital design is a matter of interacting and asking questions with end-users as they experience the design itself. Moderated interviews enable facilitators to probe end-users after they make decisions and engage in specific behaviors.

Design Enhancements- The key to optimizing design for success requires an in-depth understanding of what success means, and measuring from baseline to projections over time. As outlined above, these measures should be both quantitative and qualitative to reveal the complete picture of the impact of the design to the end-user. Evaluation should be the starting point to understanding how to increase the effectiveness of design.

:: Social Networks and Our Need to Belong

As social networks compete for popularity amongst web users looking to do whatever, the question remains…what are users looking to do? Over the past three years we’ve seen MySpace and Facebook try out applications ranging from uploading music, videos, and photos to giving virtual gifts and becoming fans of celebrities…heck, you can even become a fan of a consumer product! So, what’s the point? Are we that bored?

While the draw to social networks for consumers is, at times, ambiguous, the value proposition for advertisers is obvious. Social networks are a gold mine of consumer eyeballs and personal, behavioral, and demographic data. The holy grail of 1-1 marketing based on behavior and direct communication with consumers is easily achieved on these platforms.

Again, I ask, why do we so readily give up our personal information?

I think the answer is rooted in the very nature of our species. We are a social animal. In fact, the need to belong to a group is magnified when others ASK us to belong to their groups. It is viral. Another reason we are drawn to these networks is our desire to recapture our past. Users are lured by the prospect of reconnecting with past friends, flings, and memories. It is low-impact interaction with the past and a way to relive the “good times.” The clear winner, therefore, will be the network that is best able to provide us that access.

Jonathan Lupo VP / Information Architecture - Empathy Lab

:: Successful Social Networks Must be Relevant to End-User Goals

The concept of "social networking," "online communities," and "user generated content" has been around for years. It is nothing new. We've had newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and multi-user-dimensions (MUDs). There was "Friendster" before "My Space," or even "Facebook"...so why even try to compete in this crowded landscape?

Companies add community-based tools to their websites for various reasons. The worst reason for doing it, however, is because "social networking" is trendy.

Social networks should be created to further business objectives, such as connecting individuals for site-specific purposes...or showcasing user contributions where these contributions will be advantageous to end-users. For example, dating websites should introduce community content to give participants a better understanding of each other prior to setting up dates. Artist portals should provide talent the means to upload and showcase their content. Discussion boards should be implemented in conjunction with content that normally inspires discussion.

The creation of a community for the sake of creating a community is a risky proposition. First of all, generic communities are ubiquitous on the internet. "My Space" and "Facebook" are major players in this space, and provide robust tools for social networking. Competing in the "generic community" category would require massive promotion, viral marketing, and/or richer community tools. Basically, you'd have to convince existing "My Space" and "Facebook" users who have invested time and effort into maintaining their existing profiles, that they should spend even more time and effort creating a new profile on a new, generic community. It is a fickle landscape, too. In 2005, it was tough to find individuals who didn't have a "My Space" profile. Now, it is tough to find people who aren't on "Facebook."

It seems as though long-term success of social networks rely upon their relevance to end-users. Consider "LinkedIn." Networking in a professional context is always important, and makes perfect sense via the online medium. Searching for colleagues, businesses, and professional opportunities makes the perfect platform for a rich community. "LinkedIn" got the formula right, and early enough to gain enough loyalty to make it difficult for existing users to waste time and effort re-creating their profiles on other professional networks. This is the perfect model for successful social networking online.

Jonathan Lupo - VP / Information Architecture - Empathy Lab

:: Social networking in the information age

When we think about relationships, generally we think about "human relationships" such as:

> Professional associations
> Romantic relationships
> Familial relationships

Technologists, database developers, and web designers have shown us that there are many other relationships to be drawn based on data relationships, meta information, and other interesting anecdotal information.

Here are some examples of "data driven" relationships:

1. The tactic of "rating" products, services, and items, has extended to the rating of people (on dating sites, etc.). Individuals may now be grouped together through a shared, subjective, community rating.

2. Sites like MySpace solicit pieces of information from members such as: interests, favorite movies, favorite music, etc. When a visitor to a MySpace profile clicks on one of these "favorite items" of an individual, he/she is presented an index of all MySpace members who have also presented the selected item as a favorite on their respective profiles.

3. Broadband video networks such as YouTube enable members to create their own channels and playlists that are publicly accessible. Additionally, users may "tag" content with subjectively-based keywords. These community driven means of "flagging" information serve to organize information in new ways, and become methods in which to encounter relationships amongst individuals.