How do you align UX goals with business objectives using HEART and GSM?

1 What is HEART and GSM?

HEART and GSM are two acronyms that stand for different aspects of UX design evaluation and measurement. HEART stands for Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success. These are five dimensions of user experience that you can use to define your UX goals. GSM stands for Goals, Signals, and Metrics. These are three levels of abstraction that you can use to operationalize your UX goals. Goals are the high-level outcomes that you want to achieve with your design. Signals are the observable behaviors or actions that indicate progress towards your goals. Metrics are the quantitative measures that you can collect and analyze to track your signals.

2 How to use HEART and GSM?

To use HEART and GSM, you need to follow four steps. First, you need to select the most relevant dimensions of HEART for your design project. For example, if you are designing a new feature, you might focus on Adoption and Task Success. If you are redesigning an existing product, you might focus on Happiness and Retention. Second, you need to define your goals for each dimension of HEART. For example, your goal for Adoption might be to increase the number of users who try the new feature. Your goal for Task Success might be to reduce the time and errors required to complete a task. Third, you need to identify the signals that reflect your goals. For example, your signal for Adoption might be the percentage of users who activate the new feature. Your signal for Task Success might be the completion rate and the average time and errors per task. Fourth, you need to choose the metrics that measure your signals. For example, your metric for Adoption might be the activation rate of the new feature. Your metric for Task Success might be the task completion rate, the task time, and the task error rate.

3 How to align HEART and GSM with business objectives?

To align HEART and GSM with business objectives, you need to understand and communicate how your UX goals relate to the strategic goals of your organization or client. For example, if your business objective is to increase revenue, you might show how your UX goals of Adoption and Task Success can lead to more conversions, referrals, and retention. If your business objective is to improve customer satisfaction, you might show how your UX goals of Happiness and Engagement can lead to more positive feedback, ratings, and reviews. To align HEART and GSM with business objectives, you also need to define and report your metrics in a way that is meaningful and actionable for your stakeholders. For example, you might use dashboards, reports, or presentations to show your metrics over time, compare them with benchmarks or targets, or highlight the key insights and recommendations based on your data.

4 What are the benefits of using HEART and GSM?

Using HEART and GSM can help you align UX goals with business objectives in several ways. First, it can help you focus on the most important aspects of user experience for your design project. Second, it can help you translate your UX goals into measurable and observable outcomes. Third, it can help you communicate your UX value and impact to your stakeholders. Fourth, it can help you evaluate and improve your design based on data and feedback.

5 What are the challenges of using HEART and GSM?

Using HEART and GSM can also pose some challenges that you need to be aware of and address. First, it can be difficult to select the right dimensions of HEART and define the right goals for your design project. You might need to do some research, brainstorming, or testing to validate your assumptions and hypotheses. Second, it can be challenging to identify the best signals and metrics for your goals. You might need to consider the availability, reliability, and validity of your data sources and methods. Third, it can be hard to align HEART and GSM with business objectives that are vague, ambiguous, or conflicting. You might need to clarify and negotiate the expectations and priorities of your stakeholders. Fourth, it can be tricky to interpret and present your metrics in a way that is clear, meaningful, and actionable. You might need to use storytelling, visualization, or storytelling techniques to convey your message and recommendations.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?