HEART Framework

Use it when use heart when you need to define and track user-centric success metrics across your product's lifecycle.

What is it?

The Google HEART Framework is a strategic UX metrics model designed to help teams quantify user experience across five core dimensions: Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, and Task Success.

Developed by Google's UX Research team, HEART tackles the challenge of turning qualitative feedback into actionable, quantitative insights. Instead of chasing vanity metrics, HEART focuses on what truly drives user satisfaction (Happiness via NPS or CSAT), daily or weekly interaction depth (Engagement), new user activations (Adoption), ongoing loyalty (Retention), and efficiency or error rates on key tasks (Task Success).

You start by aligning each dimension with your business goals, pick measurable indicators, set targets, and then track performance over time. This balanced approach scales from early feature tests to mature product lines, giving you a holistic view of both user happiness and business outcomes.

Why it matters?

HEART gives you a 360° lens on what moves the needle in your product, driving deeper engagement, faster adoption, and lower churn by focusing on genuine user satisfaction and task efficiency. By swapping out vanity metrics for targeted UX signals, you align your roadmap with real user needs and uncover the friction points that stunt growth. The result is faster feature validation, improved retention, and a data-driven culture that scales growth organically.

How it works

Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.

Define product goals

Clarify your core business and UX objectives so every metric ties back to measurable outcomes like improving retention or boosting sign-ups.

Map goals to HEART dimensions

Assign each objective to one or more HEART categories, Happiness, Engagement, Adoption, Retention, Task Success, to ensure full coverage of your user experience.

Choose specific metrics

Pick 1–2 quantitative measures per category (e.g., NPS for Happiness, DAU for Engagement, conversion rate for Adoption) that directly reflect your goals.

Set baselines and targets

Use historical data or benchmarks to establish where you stand today and define realistic improvement goals on a weekly or monthly cadence.

Monitor and iterate

Regularly review your metrics, analyze trends, identify UX friction points, and iterate on experiments or product tweaks to drive continuous improvement.

Frequently asked questions

Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.

What does each letter in HEART stand for?

H stands for Happiness, quantitative signals like NPS or CSAT. E is Engagement, frequency or depth of use. A means Adoption, new user or feature uptake. R is Retention, percentage of returning users. T covers Task Success, completion, time, and error rates on critical tasks.

What does each letter in HEART stand for?

How do I choose the right metrics for each category?

Link each category to your product goals: use NPS or CSAT for Happiness, DAU/MAU for Engagement, conversion rates for Adoption, retention rate for Retention, and completion/error rates for Task Success. Pick 1–2 metrics per category to avoid analysis paralysis.

How do I choose the right metrics for each category?

Do I have to use all five dimensions?

No. You can start with the dimensions most relevant to your current focus, like Task Success and Adoption for a new feature, and add the rest as your product scales.

Do I have to use all five dimensions?

No. You can start with the dimensions most relevant to your current focus, like Task Success and Adoption for a new feature, and add the rest as your product scales.

How often should I review HEART metrics?

Review metrics on the cadence that maps to your development cycle, weekly sprints for quick wins, monthly reviews for strategic shifts. This keeps you agile and lets you catch UX issues early.

How often should I review HEART metrics?

Review metrics on the cadence that maps to your development cycle, weekly sprints for quick wins, monthly reviews for strategic shifts. This keeps you agile and lets you catch UX issues early.

How is HEART different from North Star or AARRR metrics?

North Star is a single overarching metric, and AARRR maps to growth funnel stages. HEART is multi-dimensional, designed to measure the holistic user experience rather than just growth.

How is HEART different from North Star or AARRR metrics?

North Star is a single overarching metric, and AARRR maps to growth funnel stages. HEART is multi-dimensional, designed to measure the holistic user experience rather than just growth.

You've mapped your user success metrics with HEART. Now plug them into the CrackGrowth diagnostic to uncover hidden UX friction and supercharge your roadmap.

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