UX Research Framework

HEART Framework

Translates UX goals across Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success into signals and measurable metrics.

HEART is not a mandatory set of five metrics. Teams select relevant categories and move from Goal to Signal to Metric. The metric must represent the signal and support a product decision.

Core question

Which UX goals matter, what behaviour or experience signals progress, and which metric measures it reliably?

Plan HEART Framework Method guide

Start comparison

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Participants: 3-6
Time: 120 min initial, dann laufend

HEART Framework uses a Goal-Signal-Metric chain for selected HEART categories. Assessments remain justified and context-bound.

Paper illustration of HEART Framework with its method-specific working model.

Select categories
Select categories
Select relevant HEART categories from the product objective and user problem.
Goals/signals
Goals/signals
State one user-centred goal and observable signals of progress or degradation per category.
Define metrics
Define metrics
Operationalise the signal with formula, population, window, segment, and data source.
Review decisions
Review decisions
Set baseline, target direction, guardrails, and product decision, then review regularly.

Review goals and signals after product changes; version metric definitions and inspect segment effects.

A good fit when

Useful for digital product experiences with measurable user behaviour. Add other frameworks for purely business or system metrics.

Ideal for

Product teams with established tracking
UX heatmaps
Cross-squad comparison

Not good for

Very early prototypes without real users

Outputs

HEART goals-signals-metrics map
HEART goals-signals-metrics map with traceable sources, assumptions, and domain decisions.
Decision and review trail
Owners, dates, and next review for HEART goals-signals-metrics map.

HEART goals-signals-metrics map

Fictional worked example

a Goal-Signal-Metric chain for selected HEART categories as a precise working structure with a fictional example.

HEART goals-signals-metrics map
UX goal	HEART category	Goal	Signal	Metric	Interpretation and decision
Complete team reviewSelected UX objective	Task Success	Teams complete reviews without facilitator help.	Outcome and decision are saved.	Reviews with saved outcome ≤30 min / started reviews.	Baseline 54%, target +10 pp; abandonment guardrail; test flow if flat.

1. HEART category
Complete team review
Task Success
2. Goal
Complete team review
Teams complete reviews without facilitator help.
3. Signal
Complete team review
Outcome and decision are saved.
4. Metric
Complete team review
Reviews with saved outcome ≤30 min / started reviews.
5. Interpretation and decision
Complete team review
Baseline 54%, target +10 pp; abandonment guardrail; test flow if flat.

The example demonstrates the domain logic of HEART Framework; worksheets remain blank.

Google Research: Measuring the User Experience on a Large Scale

First step

Start with the core question: Which UX goals matter, what behaviour or experience signals progress, and which metric measures it reliably?

Open the method guide

Good to do first

Paper illustration of a journey map with four connected phases, several experience lanes and a point marked for closer investigation.

UX Research

Customer Journey Mapping

Supplies qualitative friction points along the journey as the starting point for signals.

Where to go next?

Product Strategy

OKRs

Translates the HEART metrics' baseline and target direction into key results.

Product Strategy

Counter Metrics

Adds guardrail metrics to the chosen HEART metric to catch side effects.

Deep dive

Purpose

Helps clarify observations, needs, and patterns in concrete terms. It groups observations into patterns, questions, and decisions. The result is captured as a HEART-GSM table and dashboard.

How it works

Each dimension is linked to a goal, a matching signal, and a concrete metric, so that measurement is tied to impact rather than to data volume. This creates a stable measurement picture that structures reviews and brings qualitative impressions together with behavior.

In detail

The HEART Framework was developed at Google and combines qualitative and behavioral signals into a multi-axis view of UX. The five dimensions Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success are each linked to concrete metrics through Goals and Signals. HEART is often operationalized in a GSM table with Goals, Signals, and Metrics.

Facilitation

Choose at most one or two metrics per dimension. Avoid collecting data without a clear goal.

The method guide walks execution through 4 phases, timing, 4 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.

Open method guide

Your perspective

Does this method help with your work?

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Sources and topics

Topics

Metrics UX research Measurement Satisfaction

Sources

Google Research: Measuring the User Experience on a Large Scaleresearch.googleCurrent research.google page for the original paper by Rodden, Hutchinson and Fu underlying the HEART framework.

Artifact templates

HEART Framework: WorksheetPlan HEART Framework around its domain steps and the concrete decision question.

markdown

heart-framework-working-template.md

Plan HEART Framework around its domain steps and the concrete decision question.

HEART Framework: Worksheet

Question

To be confirmed

Desired outcome

To be confirmed

Scope

Establish and review the practice Time: 60–90 minutes initially; quarterly review

Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.

Preparation for this scope

Method setup

Materials: Product objective and use context, Qualitative UX findings, Available behavioural and survey data, shared workspace, source links, and decision log.
Roles: Product · UX Research · Analytics · Design · Engineering/data owner
Advance information: Collect Product objective and use context, Qualitative UX findings, Available behavioural and survey data in advance and mark open assumptions.
Overall time needed: 60–90 minutes initially; quarterly review
Setup: Prepare a Goal-Signal-Metric chain for selected HEART categories visibly and calibrate assessment terms before starting.

Prepare for the work steps

Select categories: Select categories

Product objective and use context
Qualitative UX findings
Available behavioural and survey data

Goals/signals: Goals/signals

HEART focus
Qualitative UX findings
Available behavioural and survey data

Define metrics: Define metrics

goal-signal chains
Qualitative UX findings
Available behavioural and survey data

Review decisions: Review decisions

HEART metric contract
Qualitative UX findings
Available behavioural and survey data

HEART goals-signals-metrics map

UX goal	Happiness/Engagement/Adoption/Retention/Task Success	User-centred objective, not a metric	Observable behaviour or experience	Formula · population · window · source	Baseline · target direction · guardrail · action
Complete team review

Complete team review: Selected UX objective

Enter only real input, sources, and decisions.

Google Research: Measuring the User Experience on a Large Scale

Select categories: Select categories

Expected artifact: HEART focus

HEART focus · source · uncertainty · next decision

Entry:

...

Is every selected category relevant to an upcoming product decision?

Goals/signals: Goals/signals

Expected artifact: goal-signal chains

goal-signal chains · source · uncertainty · next decision

Entry:

...

Does the signal describe behaviour or experience rather than already being a metric?

Define metrics: Define metrics

Expected artifact: HEART metric contract

HEART metric contract · source · uncertainty · next decision

Entry:

...

Does the metric represent the signal with known data quality and bias?

Review decisions: Review decisions

Expected artifact: UX measurement plan

UX measurement plan · source · uncertainty · next decision

Entry:

...

Is the decision triggered by a meaningful change clear?

Open questions and next steps

...

Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/heart-framework/run-sheet

Alternatives and neighbors

Fitting alternatives with decision guidance, followed by other related methods.

All methods

Growth

Pirate Metrics AARRR

Instead of HEART Framework, choose Pirate Metrics AARRR when you want to track acquisition, activation, retention, referral, and revenue as a growth chain.

Engineering

Goal Question Metric

Moves technical problems, hypotheses, and next steps toward a concrete result through "formulate the goal clearly", "derive probing questions for each goal", and "set the review cadence".

Product Strategy

KPI Tree

Moves target group, value, goals, and priorities toward a concrete result through "define the top metric", "describe the main driver of the top metric", and "set the review cadence".