How to Track SaaS User Experience with Google’s HEART Framework?

Definition

When improving the user experience of a software product like a SaaS, it's crucial to understand if the changes made will have or have had a significant impact. The HEART framework, developed by Kerry Rodden, Hilary Hutchinson, and Xin Fu from Google's research team, offers a structured method to assess this impact.

The HEART framework consists of five main dimensions: Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success. These dimensions allow tracking key indicators to understand the effect of the user experience within a company and its different teams (Product, CSM, Development, etc.).

Here is an overview of the HEART framework dimensions:

• Happiness: Measures user attitude through surveys, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and other satisfaction indicators.
• Engagement: Evaluates user behavior, for example, the number of videos watched per user per day, or the number of photos uploaded per user per week on Instagram.
• Adoption: Tracks the number of new users per month, for example, and product usage.
• Retention: Measures the percentage of active users over a given period.
• Task Success: Assesses user effectiveness, including the time taken to complete a task, completion rate, and the number of errors.

The HEART framework uses goals, signals, and metrics to understand how users interact with the interface. It is not necessary to have metrics in each category; it is enough to choose the ones that best correspond to the product being designed.

Although the name HEART is easier to remember, during a brainstorming session, it can be helpful to review the order of the different parts of the framework according to the user journey. The user starts by adopting the application (Adoption), performs tasks within it (Task Success), engages more (Engagement), continues or not to use the product (Retention), and then expresses their satisfaction (Happiness). It is therefore in this order that we will present the different parts of Google's HEART framework.

Adoption

Adoption refers to the number of users using the product for the first time, either through a paid subscription or free use. This dimension is crucial to understand how new users discover and start using your SaaS. The following KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are commonly used to measure adoption in a SaaS:

• Number of new users
• Number of downloads
• Adoption rate of new modules
• Conversion rate of free trial users to paid subscription

Example for a project management SaaS

To illustrate how to use the adoption criterion in a HEART framework, let's take the example of a project management SaaS. Here is how the different goals, signals and metrics can be defined:

By tracking these goals, signals, and metrics, Product teams can better understand how new users adopt their SaaS and adjust their strategies to improve user experience from the beginning of the customer journey. This not only increases the number of users but also ensures that these new users quickly find value in the product.

Next, we will focus on the success of the different tasks that the user came to complete on the software.

Task Success

Once onboarding is complete, it is essential to track whether the user is successfully completing the various tasks they are trying to accomplish on the application. We will measure errors, time spent completing a task, and efficiency. The faster and more error-free a task is completed, the more efficient the application is considered to be.

Possible KPIs for a SaaS:

• Task success rate
• Average time spent completing a task
• Number of errors
• Discover a list of all 9 essential KPIs for SaaS growth in this article.

Example for a project management SaaS

To illustrate how to use the task success criterion in a HEART framework, let's take the example of a project management SaaS. Here is how the different goals, signals and metrics can be defined:

By tracking these goals, signals and metrics, Product teams can better understand the effectiveness of users in completing tasks on the SaaS. This makes it possible to identify areas for improvement to make the application more intuitive and efficient, thus guaranteeing a better user experience.

Next, we will measure user engagement.

Engagement

The "Engagement" part of the HEART framework measures user behavior, frequency, intensity, and duration of their engagement with the product. For example, how many users have accessed the software in the last X days? Depending on the nature of the interface (E-Commerce, SaaS, Application, Website), the objectives may change.

Possible KPIs for a SaaS:

• Number of logins
• Time spent per session
• Number of tasks completed in the SaaS

Example for a project management SaaS

To illustrate how to use the engagement criterion in a HEART framework, let's take the example of a project management SaaS. Here is how the different goals, signals and metrics can be defined:

By tracking these goals, signals and metrics, Product teams can better understand and improve user engagement with their SaaS. This not only helps retain users but also ensures that they are taking full advantage of the features offered by the product.

In relation to engagement, we will also measure user retention.

Retention

Retention allows you to track how your users are returning (or not) to the product: the retention rate at X days, and the churn rate.

The goal is to identify if users are coming back to measure their loyalty.

Possible KPIs for a SaaS:

• The 30/60/90 day retention rate: this is the number of returning users
• The Churn rate: this is the number of subscription cancellations (Know more by reading our dedicated article)

Example for a project management SaaS

To illustrate how to use the retention criterion in a HEART framework, let's take the example of a project management SaaS. Here's how the different goals, signals and metrics can be defined:

By monitoring these goals, signals, and metrics, Product teams can assess the loyalty of users to their SaaS and identify the factors that influence retention. This allows for the implementation of strategies aimed at improving the value of the product for existing users, thus reducing churn and strengthening the sustainability of the business.

Last but not least, we will also seek to measure user satisfaction: their happiness.

Happiness

Keep in mind that user happiness is observed over the long term. If major changes have been made recently, a wave of bad reviews may come from users who are resistant to change.

Possible KPIs for a SaaS:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): very well known, it corresponds to the percentage of promoters (scores of 9 and 10 out of 10) minus the percentage of detractors (scores below 6/10).
• Ratings and reviews.
• Support satisfaction rate.

Example for a project management SaaS

To illustrate how to use the happiness criterion in a HEART framework, let's take the example of a project management SaaS. Here's how the different goals, signals and metrics can be defined:

By monitoring these goals, signals and metrics, Product teams can better understand the level of happiness of users with their SaaS and identify areas for improvement to ensure a positive and satisfying user experience. This helps to strengthen the product's reputation and build user loyalty over the long term.

Example of a complete HEART Framework

The HEART framework provides a holistic approach to assessing and improving the user experience (UX) of a SaaS product. By combining the dimensions of happiness, engagement, adoption, retention and task success, Product teams can get a complete overview of their product's performance from the user's point of view, or evaluate the efficiency of a Saas Gamification Strategy.

Here is an example of a completed HEART framework:

By following the goals, signals, and metrics defined in each dimension, businesses can not only identify areas for improvement in their SaaS product, but also measure the impact of changes made on the user experience. This allows to steer the user design strategy towards what matters most to users, which contributes to strengthen customer loyalty, increase satisfaction and boost business growth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Google's HEART framework provides a valuable guide for measuring, understanding and improving the user experience of a SaaS, which is essential to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly user-centric market. By incorporating these principles into their development process, companies can create SaaS products that meet the needs and expectations of their users, ensuring their long-term success.