Measuring an app’s sustainability
The most important parameter that determines the success of an application is its usefulness. How successful the app is in changing people’s lives, and how easy and convenient it has made people’s lives are the questions a proper metric should ultimately answer.
Before going further, let us ponder on the following questions.
What application comes to mind the moment we need to let our desire be fulfilled?
What is the average frequency of the need the app fulfills?
What will enable the decision to use the app? — ease of use, the network effect (if there is a requirement for communication), familiarity (which comes later)
Precisely, the retention rate is dependent on what enables a user to make the decision to use the application.
However, how do we measure that?
The conscious decision to use an app must change to a subconscious one.
The moment I want to message someone, I open WhatsApp. The moment I want to transfer money to one of my friends, I think of Tez. Likewise, being a lover of quotes and originality, the moment I think of looking for or writing something original, I use YourQuote. If I feel like improving my vocabulary, I go for Knudge.me.
I am stressing the point that
Although the frequency of the need to be fulfilled by an app, and the user base it targets (to some extent) is different, we involuntarily make the decision to use it.
Again, how do we measure the enabler?
Let us give a value to the metric say x.
Just a thought process,
For the first few days, after discovering the app, I would generally be intrigued by its functionalities and interface. I would want to get to know the app better even though I don’t have the need as such to use it. This is called the judgemental phase. I would decide based on how satisfying the app is to my idiosyncrasy.
I would rate the app in my mind. This phase is important because this is when I decide whether to recommend this to a friend or to continue using the application.
The success of crossing this phase (x) is a function of the amount of time spent on the app(t), features tried in a single session(n), and time spent reading further about it (r). Once I decide this is what I am looking for, the app becomes part of my life.
X ~ f(t,n,r)
Next comes the usage phase, are the users fairly regular in using the app?
X is proportional to the regularity of the usage of the app.
X ~ f(regularity)
Regularity will, in turn, be a function of the frequency of need and the frequency of the app usage. i.e Conversion rate of need into app-use
Next comes the familiarity phase, are the users finding it easy to use the app?
Whether the user is familiar with the app or not, can be decided from the speed with which he/she uses the app.
Is he/she navigating through the pages fast?
Is he/she scrolling down fairly fast?
Is his/her speed increasing over a period of time?
X ~ f(rate of increase in the speed of usage of the app)
Having found the factors, the next step is to find a way to properly quantify the value X.
Recommendations and criticisms are welcome.
