Top UX Metrics Every Research Plan Should Include
- Philip Burgess
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader
User experience (UX) research plays a crucial role in designing products that meet user needs and expectations. However, without clear metrics, it’s difficult to measure success or identify areas for improvement. Choosing the right UX metrics ensures your research plan delivers actionable insights that guide design decisions. This post highlights the essential UX metrics every research plan should include to provide a clear picture of user satisfaction, usability, and engagement.
Why UX Metrics Matter
UX metrics quantify how users interact with a product. They help teams understand whether users find a product easy to use, enjoyable, and effective in meeting their goals. Without these measurements, teams rely on guesswork or anecdotal feedback, which can lead to misguided design choices.
Good UX metrics provide:
Objective data to support design decisions
Clear indicators of user satisfaction and pain points
Benchmarks to track improvements over time
Evidence to justify investments in UX improvements
Usability Metrics to Track
Usability is the foundation of a good user experience. These metrics focus on how easily users can complete tasks.
Task Success Rate
This metric measures the percentage of users who complete a specific task successfully. For example, if 80 out of 100 users complete a checkout process without errors, the task success rate is 80%.
Why it matters: It directly reflects how well users can achieve their goals. Low success rates indicate usability problems that need fixing.
Time on Task
This tracks how long users take to complete a task. Shorter times usually mean the task is straightforward, while longer times may signal confusion or complexity.
Example: If users take an average of 3 minutes to find product information, but the goal is under 1 minute, the design needs simplification.
Error Rate
This counts the number of mistakes users make during a task, such as clicking the wrong button or entering invalid data.
Use case: A high error rate during form submission suggests the form design or instructions are unclear.
User Satisfaction Metrics
Understanding how users feel about a product is just as important as measuring their behavior.
System Usability Scale (SUS)
SUS is a simple questionnaire that asks users to rate usability on a scale from 0 to 100. Scores above 68 are considered above average.
Benefit: It provides a quick, standardized way to gauge overall usability.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
NPS measures user loyalty by asking how likely users are to recommend the product to others on a scale from 0 to 10. Scores are categorized into promoters, passives, and detractors.
Insight: A high NPS indicates strong user satisfaction and potential for organic growth.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
CSAT asks users to rate their satisfaction with a specific interaction or feature, usually on a 1 to 5 scale.
Example: After completing a purchase, users might rate their satisfaction with the checkout process.
Engagement Metrics to Include
Engagement metrics reveal how users interact with the product over time.
User Retention Rate
This measures the percentage of users who return to the product after their first visit. High retention suggests the product provides ongoing value.
Example: A mobile app with a 30-day retention rate of 40% is performing well compared to industry averages.
Session Length
Session length tracks how much time users spend during each visit. Longer sessions can indicate deeper engagement, but very long sessions might also mean users struggle to find what they need.
Feature Usage
Tracking which features users interact with helps identify what parts of the product are most valuable or underused.
Use case: If a new search feature has low usage, it might need better promotion or redesign.
How to Choose the Right Metrics
Not every metric fits every project. Select metrics based on your research goals and product context.
Define clear objectives: Are you testing usability, satisfaction, or engagement?
Consider the product type: Metrics for a mobile app differ from those for a website or software tool.
Balance quantitative and qualitative data: Combine metrics with user interviews or observations for richer insights.
Set benchmarks: Use industry standards or past data to evaluate results.
Putting Metrics to Work
Collecting data is only useful if you act on it. Use UX metrics to:
Identify usability issues and prioritize fixes
Track improvements after design changes
Communicate findings to stakeholders with clear evidence
Guide future research questions and product development
For example, if task success rate is low on a checkout page, redesign the flow and test again. If NPS drops after a new release, investigate what caused dissatisfaction.
Comments