Introduction to Behavioral Analytics

Analytics can be used by UX researchers to understand how users are taking advantage of the current experience. This information can help pinpoint problems or issues or areas of opportunity.

Every site has the ability to collect information about how people entered the site, when they used features or functions, what pages are used least and most frequently, and conversion rates across products or categories. As designers and researchers, we must figure out how to use this information to make design choices that will make processes more efficient, effective, or compelling.

Tracking and trending user behavior is critical. Seasonality or other time-related trends can help designers to understand what features and functions are most important at certain times of the day or year, even as that data is used by engineers to understand load balancing requirements.

In addition, analytics can suggest gaps in the user experience. For example, people might be using certain terms to find products that your site does not include; this shows a disconnect in how people are thinking about a concept they are looking for and how your organization frames it. By digging into this information on a regular basis, you can better tune the user experience to fit demonstrated needs.

Finally, when analytics can point you in the direction of new needs or expectations as they develop. People and industry change quickly; what worked six months ago might no longer be appropriate. Establishing a baseline for normal for your product can help you to diagnose when problems occur and even suggest possible approaches you might use to resolve them.

During this module, we will be focusing on learning the terminology and identifying which metrics your organization should consider tracking to optimize your experience.