Operationalizing Engagement

How does this formula grab you?


Whoa! Don't touch that back button YET!
What? this doesn't 'engage' you?

How about this version and explanation?
Σ(Ci + Di + Ri + Li + Bi + Fi + Ii)
Where

“Visitor Engagement is a function of the number of clicks (Ci), the visit duration (Di), the rate at which the visitor returns to the site over time (Ri), their overall loyalty to the site (Li), their measured awareness of the brand (Bi), their willingness to directly contribute feedback (Fi) and the likelihood that they will engage in specific activities on the site designed to increase awareness and create a lasting impression (Ii).”

"The components of the Visitor Engagement calculation are:
• Click Depth Index: Captures the contribution of page and event views
• Duration Index: Captures the contribution of time spent on site
• Recency Index: Captures the visitor’s “visit velocity”—the rate at which visitors return to the web site over time
• Brand Index: Captures the apparent awareness of the visitor of the brand, site, or product(s)
• Feedback Index: Captures qualitative information including propensity to solicit additional information or supply direct feedback
• Interaction Index: Captures visitor interaction with content or functionality designed to increase level of Attention the visitor is paying to the brand, site, or product(s)
• Loyalty Index: Captures the level of long-term interaction the visitor has with the brand, site, or product(s)"

You can read about that and MUCH more in the whitepaper entitled:Measuring the Immeasurable: Visitor Engagement by Eric T. Peterson and Joseph Carrabis. Engagement in the educational experience is essential! This too is a must read -- and an opportunity to join the conversation about engagement here. And just to whet your appetite, it documents Omniture's response to the subject of measuring engagement (and the author's response to their response):

"The same guys that want you all to believe web analytics is easy has now declared that “Visitor engagement formulas are largely another fad, just like parachute pants and the Hollywood diet. It’s a measure some consultants and vendors can pitch like snake oil.”

Omniture’s point that Visitor Engagement is a bad idea because it has subjective components fails to understand the work that folks like Jim Novo, Steve Jackson, Theo Papadakis, Joseph Carrabis and others have done; it makes me wonder if the author bothered to read anyone’s work on the subject."

Read More......

Architects and Designers meet Analysts for best ROI

The article: Information architecture: Data-driven design: Using web analytics to validate heuristics system by Andrea Wiggins and a cited reference around which the article is written are must reads. Though never discussing web analytics and education directly, it explains the need for educational designers and information architects to collaborate with analysts from the beginning of the project, to maximize ROI. It begins with a very insightful quote that applies directly to education:

"...However, web analytics' greatest potential lies in improving the online user experience. When analytics data is shared with the design team, a subtler and more sophisticated user-experience design can emerge."

It discusses how web analytics can help evaluate and quantify the user experience using Robert Rubinoff's user experience audit. His audit has four main components, three of which apply very directly to education (functionality, usability and content) and the other (branding) indirectly. This is the most insightful article (and reference) I have read to date -- even though it does not address educational uses directly -- mainly because it points out the importance of analysts working with designers.
Read More......