We previously covered the Ethical COLLECTION of user data. Here, we describe how your business can use that data ethically for analysis. Data and information analytics will help you create the best possible software product or service for your market. These insights will aid product managers, designers, marketers, and the whole leadership team.
The best way to measure product analytics is to start by collecting raw data. Data comes from users directly, from events triggered by their behavior, and through third-party software integrations (aka Connected Services). Ensure that you have proper policies, training, and procedures in place to collect this data ethically.
Once you have a good source of reliable data, you can start building the analytics side of it. Start by creating general reports on user behavior. From there, you can dial into specific behaviors you want to measure and specific user data you need to include. We’ll dive deeper into this below.
The primary ways that data analytics aid software product development include the following:
There are way more than the list of important metrics below, and the ones you pick for your project will likely be different from this list. But this is a good starting point to begin the analysis process. Consider collecting, tracking, and measuring these metrics for your custom software service:
Want to start tracking these on your product or service? We can help.
Leveraging your customer data responsibly and ethically comes down to creating a culture of transparency and trust within your organization. That begins with having a plan to protect sensitive data, including your own intellectual property and your users’ personally-identifying information (PII). Information security includes company training, data privacy policies, and documented procedures for handling data, security, and breaches. Depending on where you do business, putting these in place may be the law.
As you develop your custom software product or service, collecting and analyzing user data is a key -- if not THE key -- to your project’s success. From initial launch to feature changes down the road, looking at the right data will help ensure the viability and performance of your product. However, collecting that data needs to be done ethically (and legally). Protecting user information means protecting your company's reputation and financial stability.
Contact us today to discuss ethical data analytics for your project.