Measuring our impact with better metrics

Last year Reps organized several Apps Days events to have apps submitted to the Firefox Marketplace. Those Apps Days appeared at events in the Reps Portal, and they had metrics like other events. There is no easy way to see how many apps were submitted as a result of those events because of how the metrics were stored as text. While the events had significant impact, it was hard to measure because the Reps Portal did not structure or aggregate event metrics.

Today we are introducing a better, easier way to create and report metrics for your events. We have heard from many Reps that 1) it is hard to know what metrics are useful when planning an event and 2) it would be valuable to report the actual success of your events.

In the past, you entered metrics and success scenarios (predicted outcomes) in text boxes when creating your events. Now you can select from a list of common metrics that Rosana has curated. For each metric type, you will need to provide a numeric value for the expected outcome.

Action needed: If you already have a future event on the Reps Portal and it is starting after June 16th, you need to edit your event and select at least 2 new-style metrics from the dropdown menus. Be sure to do this before June 16th.

Also, starting today any new events created will use the new metrics types.

We have changed the attendance estimate to a numeric field, so you can be more specific about how many people you believe will attend your event.

As an event organizer you will receive an email notification after the event asking you to report your success. This form asks for a count of the number of attendees and the actual outcomes of the metrics you created. Completing this form counts as an activity, and that activity will appear on your profile. Soon we will have an aggregate display of all event metrics.

Why are we using a curated list of metrics? It helps us have standardized metrics for events and also measure the impact of our events in aggregate. For example, going forward we will know how many strings have been translated this year at all the Localization Sprint events and how many Firefox Marketplace apps have been submitted. Having a fixed list of metrics may feel limiting. If there is a metric you think would be valuable to have for Reps events, add it this suggestions etherpad.

Having better metrics and data will significantly help the Reps program measure its impact. From knowing the number of attendees at events to having estimated and actual metrics data, we will be able to quantify our impact in a meaningful way, both for individual events and across the hundreds of events that Reps participate in each year.