Initiative
Evidence over opinion: bringing product analytics to Betterview
Betterview (now Nearmap) · 2021–2024
Design decisions at Betterview often waited on an overloaded Business Intelligence team. I saw the gap, found a tool to close it, and made the case for the company to invest in it.
The Gap & the Proposal
The gap
I identified a gap in our ability to make evidence-based design decisions. Our Business Intelligence team was overloaded, and the existing analytics tools were too complex for the reports we actually needed.
The proposal
I researched alternatives and proposed Heap as a purpose-fit solution. Adopting it required an investment from the company, so I made the case to leadership and secured buy-in.
The Rollout
After getting buy-in, I configured our reports and made Heap access available across the team.
To get people using it, I ran three to four lunch-and-learn sessions with four to five attendees each, including data annotation, product managers, and customer support.
The Payoff
Proved the 90 seconds
Heap is how we measured assessment times after the redesign, confirming underwriters were hitting the target, with some as fast as 45 seconds.
Validated a redesign
Session replays confirmed the new Spotlight Editor interaction model was working before we fully shipped it.
Freed up the BI team
Routine design validation no longer depended on Business Intelligence, so both teams could focus on higher-value work.
At a company-wide retreat, the VP introduced our product analytics initiative to the whole organization and called on me directly with questions. I pulled a live report within a minute.