Why we need to have a change of HEART with UX metrics

The HEART framework revolutionised UX design, but it’s time for an upgrade.

By now, the HEART framework should be known to every UX designer, as it reaches close to a decade since Kerry Rodden, Hilary Hutchinson, and Xin Fu from Google’s research team introduced the framework to the community.

In a nutshell, the framework comprises 5 categories: happiness (H), engagement (E), adoption (A), retention (R), and task success (T), forming the word HEART. Each category also comes with three parameters: the goal (G) or objective, the signal (S) or evidence of a user’s actions, and the quantifiable metrics (M). A UX practitioner then fills in the relevant information pertaining to the product they are designing and tracks the results accordingly.

Given its usefulness to help designers to focus on key aspects of design objectively, along with its catchy name, it’s no surprise that the HEART framework is a popular tool among designers. And while there are many other metrics, like the pirate metrics (AARRR) and more traditional measures like system usability scale (SUS), none sticks better than the HEART metric.

Yet, I firmly believe we can still do better as designers. Although it has helped us start with capturing important outcomes, there are issues in its approach, as shared by a few critics.

1. Happiness (H) is bold but problematic as the first success metric.

To lead with happiness first is a highly desired outcome, but not a practical one. Not only are emotions subjective, they are meaningless too. I may say that I am happy or upset, but my actions may not indicate otherwise. As Anthropologist Margaret Mead put it,

“What people say, what people do, and what they say they do are entirely different things.”

Placing happiness at the start of the framework is also rather unconventional. As another saying goes, “Putting the cart before the horse" means doing something in the wrong order or out of the natural sequence of events. In this scenario, how do we measure happiness before the actual usage? Perhaps that's why perception metrics are typically at the end of any experience.

2. Likewise, placing task success (T) at the end after retention is counterintuitive

The gradual build-up of engagement (E), adoption (A), and retention (R) creates a strong, lasting measure that can resonate with even non-designers. However, positioning task success (T) as the epitomal moment does seem to fall short of being a greater outcome than retention.

Paradoxically, wouldn’t there be task successes along every part of the framework? Removing task success almost implies denying its presence elsewhere, which isn’t accurate.

3. Then there are goals, signals, and metrics (GSM)

Upon closer inspection, they are quite similar to John Doerr’s Objective and Key Results (OKR). Doerr introduced this philosophy to Google’s founders in 1999 at a ping-pong table that doubled as a boardroom table. Therefore, aside from a possible evolution from OKR to GSM, there isn’t a compelling reason to change an effective method in the corporate world if it’s merely a name change.

4. Except maybe a new name should be the case.

Memory serves us better when a catchy acronym relates to its key activities. This is by far the most compelling factor that many UX practitioners remember about Google’s HEART framework. Just thinking of a heart brings to mind a red, universal shape with two arches at the top and a sharp bottom. Along with a recognisable research publication and Google as a brand, this is fundamentally why the HEART has been so successful. But is it?

Consuming endlessly to our heart's desire is possible if all is well. Unfortunately, expect 2024 to be the first year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for most of the year. Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation, Celeste Saulo, made the following comments about recent events:

“The record-breaking rainfall and flooding, rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, deadly heat, relentless drought, and raging wildfires that we have seen in different parts of the world this year are unfortunately our new reality and a foretaste of our future.”

And yet, we had seen similar patterns from decades earlier. Tracing the root cause behind climate change, one would say it is largely due to our insatiable consumption culture. What’s worse is that, as designers, we are responsible for our ability to create the hedonistic treadmill of desire. Sustainability pioneer Victor papanek once said,

“Advertising design, in persuading people to buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, in order to impress others who don’t care, is probably the phoniest field in existence today.”

What if I say there is actually a way to make a change, such that it requires a few small tweaks to the existing HEART framework? Let’s face it, not all should go to waste. Instead, we could retain some very strong points and further reinforce them with the following changes:

1. Start with a clear, unmistakable vision.

A vision surpasses any goal or objective. And when connected to values and principles, vision provides an invisible momentum that drives the desire for positive change. Jim Collins reveals the three basic elements to a vision:

1. an organization’s fundamental reason for existence beyond just making money (often called its mission or purpose)
2. its timeless, unchanging core values
3. huge and audacious — but ultimately achievable — aspirations for its own future

Once we have the elements, the next step would be to choose a better vision. Miraculously, shifting the H in HEART right to the back of the acroymn forms a more meaningful word—EARTH, and what better way than to remember the only spaceship we are currently living on?

Add a few more lines to substantiate what your design or activities mean to the planet. For example, is what you are designing going to help Earth ecologically, raise social equity, or provide new value to all shareholders, including nature?

2. Double down on measurable behaviours that provide various forms of currencies

Unlike happiness, which tends to come as opinions from quick surveys, currencies provide tangible evidence of metrics. This gives you the assurance that your efforts are indeed paying off.

So what is a currency? While we often think of currency as money, which is undeniably a powerful medium, there are plenty of other currencies, such as time, information, and effort. (such theories are not new, as Lean Startup author Eric Ries further details)

To put it another way, these efforts and time can reduce traditional processing costs. Plus, with proper data protection and consent, you can exchange information for something valuable.

However, just as important is the behavioural response that comes with the currency. This is a perfect opportunity to conduct UX research to better understand the relationship between the user and their digital lifestyle or to conduct product testing to see if what they use will eventually fall across the EARTH framework. By observing and interviewing, or by providing design diaries for them to record across a period of time, designers could identify the patterns early on without making wild guesses at the later stages.

3. Replace Task success (T) with Total returns (T)

Instead of viewing successful task completion as the ultimate goal, let's elevate the concept by focusing on returns. In financial services, a return is the profit you gain from an investment. This should be a key measure because it reflects customers' willingness to pay for added benefits.

Additionally, returns give a sense of putting something back to it’s original state. What better way to acknowledge the return of Earth's resources, especially when they are at the end of their lifecycle? If we don't responsibly circulate our output, some byproducts will only further damage the climate.

We can be custodians of responsible returns by designing our products with the following measures:

1. Carbon credits to revenue ratio 
2. % of positive energy generated from net positive buildings 
3. Biodiversity conversion from successful sales 
4. Circular resource ratio 
5. Towards a Zero landfill operation 
6. Water replenishment goals 
7. Reforestation efforts with number of trees planted 
8. % of sales given back to Earth 
9. Product takeback rates 
10. Average product lifespan

4. And lastly, measure Happiness (H) at the end to determine whether the actions taken by the user are memorable

Drawing from Daniel Kahneman’s remembering self theory, we can measure happiness after an experience by relying on our memories to identify the best and worst parts of our design journey. We can also analyse and compare whether the other metrics along EARTH relate to the user’s remembering self, using this opportunity to recall and prompt for further insights.

Remembering Daniel Kahneman in our UX practice

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The net promoter score, which measures a customer’s willingness to recommend an experience to new users, is also related to happiness. This completes the cycle of happiness, bringing the EARTH framework into play for both repeated and new users from recommendations. Over time, these actions bring us closer to realising the vision of total returns, with Earth as a major shareholder in our designs.

The HEART framework revolutionised UX design by focusing on happiness and engagement, but it’s time for an upgrade. The EARTH framework introduces sustainability and tangible returns, urging designers to rethink priorities and metrics. By embracing this change, we can design for a better future—both for users and the planet.

References

Collins, J. (2000, June). Jim Collins — Articles — Aligning Action and Values. Www.jimcollins.com. https://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/aligning-action.html

Doerr, J. (2018). Measure What Matters. Penguin.

Ries, E. (2009). Business ecology and the four customer currencies. Startuplessonslearned.com. https://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/12/business-ecology-and-four-customer.html

Rodden, K., Hutchinson, H., & Fu, X. (2010). Measuring the user experience on a large scale. Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems — CHI ’10, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1145/1753326.1753687

World Meteorological Organization. (2024, November 8). 2024 is on track to be hottest year on record as warming temporarily hits 1.5°C. World Meteorological Organization. https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/2024-track-be-hottest-year-record-warming-temporarily-hits-15degc