Strategies to Navigate the Metrics Deluge
Sally Grisedale
Executive & Leadership Coach. Step Into Your Power and Elevate Your Professional Path.
?? Metrics Don’t Define Design; They Fuel It.?
You're not alone. Many creative leaders need to work on overemphasizing short-term metrics, fearing it undermines the long-term value of design and its ability to solve real problems for people.?
It can be easy to lose sight of the user, the very soul of what makes design impactful. So before metrics become the villain, let's reframe the narrative with tools and ideas to navigate this data-driven landscape confidently.
Strategy 1
Seek Context and Understand the "Why"
Numbers can be deceptive. Dig deeper into the "why" behind the data, and it will reveal the company’s value proposition. These three companies, Zoom, Apple, and Grammarly, have unique value propositions. We recognize them by their marketing tagline.
Value Proposition Drives Data Collection
Value proposition (in brackets above) is how each company differentiates itself from its competition. What data a business gathers will vary according to its value proposition.
Below are three examples of companies, their value propositions, and the likely data they will capture to measure progress.
Please note that this is a guesstimate and massive oversimplification to help explain the importance of knowing the ‘why’ behind the data deluge you may experience at work.
Value Prop: Price Efficiency and Cost-effectiveness
Companies focusing on price efficiency and cost-effectiveness will concentrate on capturing data that lets them pinpoint inefficiencies and areas for improvement, standardization, and optimization using automation. Examples might include:
Price Efficient Companies
Methods to Track Price Efficiency
Value Prop: Customer Experience and Outcome
Companies focusing on customer experience and outcomes want to discover, understand, and empathize with users and do so iteratively and throughout development.? Examples might include:
Customer Experience Companies
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Methods to Track Customer Experience
Value Prop: Increase Customer Productivity
Companies that compete on building products that make customers more productive at work and in their hobbies might want to capture qualitative (user journey) and quantitative data, including:
Customer Productivity Companies
Methods to Track Customer Productivity
Understanding the "why" behind data collection is crucial to navigating the data deluge. Companies with different value propositions, like price efficiency, customer experience, or increased productivity, will gather and analyze data in distinct ways.
By seeking context and understanding the purpose behind data collection, you can better understand the companies you work for and their choices.
Strategy 2
Ask the Right Questions
Talk to your colleagues in other departments to learn which data and metrics help them do their job. Here are some questions you could ask them.
???The Short Of It
The ever-growing volume of user data and metrics can be overwhelming, especially for leaders prioritizing user-centricity. However, by employing the two strategies outlined in this article, you can leverage data as a powerful tool to guide your design decisions while remaining true to your user-centered approach.?
Understanding the "why" behind the data, aligning with the company's value proposition, and collaborating with other departments ensure your designs are user-centric and contribute to the business's overall success.?
Remember, metrics are a compass, not a destination. Embrace data as a valuable ally in your design process. Use it to navigate the course, but don't let it dictate the journey.
That’s it for this week!
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With ?? from Sally