How Northpass Defines Engagement
When one thinks of experiences that are engaging, it usually involves something interesting, compelling, exciting, or out-of-the-ordinary. As compared to involvement or mere participation, engagement is the concept of exhibiting an overall positive association with something, ascribing enjoyment or delight to an experience.
At least that’s how I’ve always thought about it. But recently when doing some research on product and UX metrics I encountered this term and was presented with a new spin on the definition.
The widely accepted view of engagement as a UX metric
Google has popularized the H.E.A.R.T. framework, a methodology for measuring overall product performance. This framework uses Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success to measure product experience.
This is the definition of Engagement, as defined by the H.E.A.R.T. framework:
The level of user involvement, typically measured via behavioral proxies such as frequency, intensity, or depth of interaction over some time period. Examples might include the number of visits per user per week or the number of photos uploaded per user per day.
That’s quite a departure from my traditional understanding — I’ve always thought there was more to engagement than basic usage. But that’s ok with me — let’s let Google have their definition.
More importantly, how do we define engagement here at Northpass?
At Northpass, we take it a step further
In his book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell explored some of the ideas and research performed by the producers of the quintessential children’s show Sesame Street. Observing how children consumed educational content in an entertainment format offered an interesting contrast in terms of engagement compared to adults. Adults look away when they are bored. Children will look away when they are confused. The big challenge for the producers of Sesame Street was to keep kids engaged and learn educational concepts. Part of their strategy was to present short snippets of content delivered by live people along with puppet characters like Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. As software developers, our challenge is not so dissimilar. Simply, how do we keep people from “looking away”?
For starters, it goes beyond the mere occupation of one’s attention. An engaging experience hits home. It captures the imagination. It is interesting and attractive; perhaps it’s something that you’ll tell someone about later. It makes you want to share the experience with someone else. And most often, it is a little thing here or there that can make a big difference. Here are a few examples.
Factors that make an experience engaging?
Charismatic copywriting
- Well-written, concise, and informative … but also clever and entertaining (to a point)
Natural and intuitive UI
- Easy to find what I’m looking for
- Controls behave in customary/predictable ways
- Content and information is well-organized
- I don’t have to rely on help documentation to achieve my goals, but it’s available if I need it
Interaction
- Animation only serves to reinforce what’s happening
- Not for eye candy or effect
- Snappy, efficient, responsive
I believe enterprise software has a high bar to attain. Most users don’t really get to choose whether or not they use an enterprise software product. People using these apps usually do so as a requirement of their job. It’s a tool they employ to get things done, not a tool for fun or socializing. Every year, several million learners take courses on Northpass-powered schools as part of their company’s learning program. We owe it to them — and the administrators creating the course material — to enhance their productivity, provide a sense of accomplishment, and generally make their lives easier.
Compared with an app like Netflix or Instagram, software like Northpass has to work harder and overcome more barriers to engage users. But if done well, I believe enterprise apps can cultivate satisfaction, empowerment, and even delight. If you can make someone’s job easier or help them get work done more efficiently — that’s a win. That’s what we’re all about at Northpass.
Maybe the word I’ve been looking for is Affinity. But that’s a blog post for a different day.
Until then, we’ll be working hard to equip schools built on Northpass with a high level of engagement, ensuring that training admins and learners are more productive.
