Especially on the internet, the client is in command. Furthermore, Internet sites get more and more used in the primary processes of a business. Marketing, Sales, payments etc. are all done online nowadays.
Websites are becoming more and more strategic, time to market and first time right are more and more important.
That’s why the balanced scorecard (BSC) is such a great model to use in internet strategies. The client perspective is a great area to define the key succes factors fo your site based on what users think.
Strangely enough almost nobody seems to get you could be using the balanced scorecard to DEFINE your site, not just manage it.
So what should you do?
- Define your Mission and Vision
- Define your businessstrategy for the internet
- Define your limits (your values, what you think is important)
- Define your stakeholder goals (what is the ultimate direct measure for success?)
- Define you view on what your customers want from you on the internet
- Define the processes you need to have do deliver to these customers
- Define what you need for continued success in the future.
Doesn’t it look easy on paper?
It turns out not to be. What you want is easy, money, recognition, peace on earth, what ever.
It’s hard to know what customers want. It’s hard to connect their needs to your goals. It’s hard to understand the influence of their needs on the web and internal processes. It’s hard to make all this quantitative, instead of gut feelings.
In other words It’s hard to implement a good website and underlying organization in one go.
In this blog I’ll be trying to show you a way of preparing yourself for doing all this, get to a website definition founded on sound decisions, and the knowledge and tools for managing the site to success.
October 27, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Connecting web metrics and the balanced scorecard is a good idea, although not that new. Here’s an article in Itelligent Enterprise from my previous job: http://www.intelligententerprise.com/53700843. I have some screen shots that you might find interesting that I’ll try to remember to post in the coming weeks.
October 28, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Hey Jonathan,
Thanks for your comment.
I started putting the pieces together in 2005, but could not find much documented about this topic. I think the idea is worth “campaining” for, that’s why i’m doing this blog.
Great to see that there is someone who actually understands it
I look forward to your screenshots, and exchanging ideas, as using the scorecard still leaves a lot of questions as to what areas to focus on and how to show them in the BSC.
November 18, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Jonathan put up his screenshots on his alignment blog: http://alignment.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/web-channel-performance-management/