What do Walt Disney World, Traffic Lights and magicians have in common? They all build illusions that make us feel good. The same goes for performance, as your brain decides what is fast and what is not, often ignoring the absolute numbers we measure and rely on. This talk explores the psychology of time, how to measure user timings right and why site speed matters to create more conversions.

1. It’s the user...
@jeroentjepkema
Akamai Roadshow, 11 June 2018
Design. Speed. Frictionless

2. Slides: bit.ly/AWPjune11

3. Formula 1

5. 1950 2013vs.

6. 1950 2013
67 sec. 3 sec.
vs.

7. 1950 2013
67 sec. 3 sec.
$ 57.000 $ 89.000.000
vs.

8. Time = Money

9. Part 1: Designing for speed

10. Designing (Online) Time

11. Time is variable,
objectively measured,
but subjectively experienced

12. Experience vs. surfing online....

13. Experience vs. surfing online....
Always compared to past experiences

14. Experience vs. surfing online....
Task completion has positive impact
Always compared to past experiences

15. Experience vs. surfing online....
Task completion has positive impact
Slow downs have more impact
Always compared to past experiences

16. Experience vs. surfing online....
Context: Need/Urgency
Task completion has positive impact
Slow downs have more impact
Always compared to past experiences

17. Therefore, key to a fast website is
to engineer the factors that affect this
perception of time

18. External
Variables
Perceived
Usefulness
Perceived
Ease-of-Use
Attitude
towards using
Behavioral
intentions
to use
Actual
Usage
Source: Technology Acceptance Model by Fred Davis

19. Offline vs. Online perception

20. Uncertain waitsUncertain waits...

21. Unfair waits...

22. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/opinion/sunday/why-waiting-in-line-is-torture.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Unexplained waits...

23. Queuing for iPhone6 launch - London 2014
Purpose vs. Context

24. Online users often lack context for delays...

25. ...and see no other option than to click away

26. “Both offline and online consumers
associate slow performance with
poor customer service”

27. The “Uh-Huh” moment

28. Source: Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions, R.B. Miller
the RESPONSIVE conversation

29. 0-0,2
Instant
confirmation
the RESPONSIVE conversation
Source: Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions, R.B. Miller

30. 0-0,2 0,5-1,0
Instant
confirmation
Immediate
acknowledgement
the RESPONSIVE conversation
Source: Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions, R.B. Miller

31. 0-0,2 0,5-1,0 2,0-5,0
Instant
confirmation
Immediate
acknowledgement
Continuity of
interaction
the RESPONSIVE conversation
Source: Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions, R.B. Miller

32. 0-0,2 0,5-1,0 2,0-5,0 10
Instant
confirmation
Immediate
acknowledgement
Continuity of
interaction
Abandoment!
the RESPONSIVE conversation
Source: Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions, R.B. Miller

33. Build for Responsive Conversation

34. Request
(Zero Moment of Truth)

35. Reply
(Instant = 200ms)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LueoZaifVE

36. Orientation
(Acknowledge = 0.5-1.0 sec)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LueoZaifVE

37. Decision
(Continuity = 2.0-5.0 sec)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LueoZaifVE

38. Responsiveness is
relative to the interaction...

39. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1005081200005

40. nytimes.com/2004/02/27/nyregion/27BUTT.html

42. http://www.livescience.com/39764-mastering-the-psychology-of-standing-in-line.html

43. Why this works? Occupied time feels
shorter than unoccupied time...

44. Flow State
(because your website is more than 1 page...)

45. Flow is a zen-moment where a
person is completely involved in the
activity... Optimal flow comes when
the perceived challenge matches the
persons skills & expectations...

46. Fast delivery,
focus on perceptive experience...

47. ... and provide relevant content to
support task completion.

48. Which is better?
0
1
2
3
4
Home Lister Detail Item Basket
Speed(sec.)
0
1
2
3
4
Home Lister Detail Item Basket
Speed(sec.)
Example A Example B

49. Comparing time
Duration JND
Comparing time = Objective Time + Just Noticeable Difference
Source: Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions, R.B. Miller

50. The just noticeable difference is the
minimum increase or decrease in
magnitude of a property of a
stimulus
“
”
- Weber-Fechner Law

51. Guessing time: the 20% rule
5 sec.4 sec. 6 sec.
Faster Slower
+20%-20%

52. Which is better?
0
1
2
3
4
Home Lister Detail Item Basket
Speed(sec.)
0
1
2
3
4
Home Lister Detail Item Basket
Speed(sec.)
Example A Example B

53. SLOW habits

54. 0
Budget for
Repetition
Benefit vs.
Frequency
Consistent
Learning
New vs.
Recurring
the SLOW adoption of habits
Source: https://www.redbirdonline.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-adopt-new-behaviour
21 days 66 days 254 days
Adoption rate varies based on frequency of return visits

55. Slow hurts more than speed gains…
Optimise for maximum without
compromising flow

56. Performance should not be an after-thought....
Designing lasts longer than fixing technique!

57. Part 2: Measuring speed

58. Why is Nigerian spam so badly
written?

59. Aunshul Rege of Rutgers University, USA in 2009
1000 emails
1-2 responses
1 fool and their money, parted.
Bad language (0.1% conversion)
Gullible (70% conversion)
1000 emails
100 responses
1 fool and their money, parted.
Good language (10% conversion)
Not-gullible (.07% conversion)

60. Nigerian spammers
have really learned to understand
their target market and
‘best behavior’ of their customers

61. Replacing emotions with facts...

62. Vanity Metrics vs. Leading Indicators

63. A good metric is:
Understandable
If you’re busy
explaining the
data, you
won’t be busy
acting on it.
Comparative
Comparison is
context.
A ratio or rate
The only way
to measure
change and
roll up the
tension
between two
metrics (MPH)
Behavior
changing
What will you
do differently
based on the
results you
collect?

64. Now ask yourself:
How many of my current metrics are good metrics?
How many do you use to make business decisions
Are there others you’re not thinking of?

65. What metric to pick?

66. Focus is always hard to achieve.

67. That’s why we start with one metric
at at time...

68. Picking your One Metric That Matters:
It answers the most important questions for current topic
It puts focus into the entire process
It forces you to put a line in the sand
It inspires a culture of experimentation

69. How Fast do I need to be?

70. It depends...

71. Data
Context
Product
Speed vs. System?

72. Data
Context
Product
Reality
Distortion
Growth
opportunities
Local
Maximum
Your
(eco)
system
Speed vs. System?

73. High
Low
Low Low
Training
requirement
Usability priority
Intranet/
IT tools
Specialized
applications
Prototypes/
mock-ups
Consumer
software
Speed vs. System?

74. What’s your relative performance?

75. Source: Jakob Nielsen
99% of time online is spent on other sites
than yours...

76. Search/Orientation phase
Perception of experience
1
Experience influence cycle

77. Search/Orientation phase
Perception of experience
1
Stimulate content/
conversion
Experience influence cycle
Your website
3
5
2
4
Delivered
Experience

78. Competitive Benchmark
Your direct
competitors
Your users’
favourites
Your industry
leaders

79. One Performance Metric that Matters

80. How fast am I? (average)
3.5 sec.
load time (sec.)

81. load time (sec.)
Sessions(#) How fast am I? (in reality)
3.5 sec.

82. Not knowing what normal behavior looks
like, makes us do stupid things...

83. Drawing a line in the sand:
Performance Metric That Matters

84. Sessions(#) Performance Metric That Matters?
load time (sec.)

85. Sessions(#) Performance Metric That Matters?
PMTM?
‣Bounce Rate
‣Time on site
‣Pages visited
‣Scroll event
‣Orders
‣Call Centre
load time (sec.)

86. load time (sec.)
Sessions(#) Performance Metric That Matters?
PMTM?
‣Bounce Rate
‣Time on site
‣Pages visited
‣Scroll event
‣Orders
‣Call Centre
1.5 sec.
3.5 sec.
True Intent
Conversion Rate

87. load time (sec.)
Sessions(#) Performance Metric That Matters?
PMTM?
‣Bounce Rate
‣Time on site
‣Pages visited
‣Scroll event
‣Orders
‣Call Centre
1.5 sec.
3.5 sec.
True Intent
Conversion Rate

88. Don’t know, just follow the money…

89. What if...
True Intent
Conversion Rate

90. What if... Performance was 10% faster?
True Intent
Conversion Rate

91. What if... Performance was 30% faster?
True Intent
Conversion Rate

92. Part 3: Optimizing for speed

93. Anatomy of a
web page
Optimizing for the right person?

94. Errors
1%
Potentials
14%
Byers
3%
Viewers
81%
Optimizing for the right person?

95. Viewers
‣ Clients looking for offers
‣ Speed is important
Buyers
‣ Affinity with the brand
‣ The length of the session is important

96. Viewers
‣ Clients looking for offers
‣ Speed is important
Potential Buyers Buyers
‣ User understanding the brand
‣ Users that don't spent a big amount of time in
the website (short length), but we can modify
that behaviour on this clients
‣ Affinity with the brand
‣ The length of the session is important

97. Influencing behavior?
Know what lever to pull

98. Pirate Metrics = Your Value Ladder

99. Revenue over time
VALUEADD
Acquisition
Activation
Revenue
Retention
Referral
Pirate Metrics = Your Value LadderPerceptionTechnology

100. Revenue over time
PerceptionTechnology
VALUEADD
Page Load Time
(variance, p50, p75)
Errors
(Count vs. Pageviews)
Availability
(% over time vs. Users impacted)
Composition
(Page Weight)
Acquisition
Activation
Revenue
Retention
Referral
Pirate Metrics = Your Value Ladder
Sessions
(Session time vs. Pages Viewed)
Demographics
(Browsers, Bandwith, Device)
Composition
(Key Pages, 3d Party)

101. Revenue over time
VALUEADD
Page Load Time
(variance, p50, p75)
Errors
(Count vs. Pageviews)
Availability
(% over time vs. Users impacted)
Sessions
(Session time vs. Pages Viewed)
Demographics
(Browsers, Bandwith, Device)
Composition
(Key Pages, 3d Party)
Composition
(Page Weight)
Conversion Impact
(Load, Session, Exit)
Conversion Impact
(FMP, TTI, Speed Index)
Source
(Referrer vs. Session)
Session Behaviour
(Flow. Pre-loading)
NPS Cohort
(Return rates)
Acquisition
Activation
Revenue
Retention
Referral
Pirate Metrics = Your Value LadderPerceptionTechnology

102. Optimising for the right metric is your
web performance superpower...

103. Make it sticky… Get Fast = Stay Fast

104. Measure
User Experience
Performance
KPI's
Performance vs.:
‣Conversion
‣NPS
‣SEO/SEA
‣Usability
‣(Agile) Development
‣...
Performance vs.:
‣Consumer Profile
‣Competitive benchmark
‣Uptime & Availability
‣(Visual) Perception & UX metrics
‣ Real User Behavior
‣...
Get Fast = Stay Fast

105. Measure
User Experience
Performance
KPI's
Execute
Performance
Optimisation
Performance vs.:
‣Conversion
‣NPS
‣SEO/SEA
‣Usability
‣(Agile) Development
‣...
Performance vs.:
‣Front-End coding (Mobile/Desktop)
‣Image Optimization
‣3d Party management
‣Performance testing
‣Playbook (process)
‣...
Performance vs.:
‣Consumer Profile
‣Competitive benchmark
‣Uptime & Availability
‣(Visual) Perception & UX metrics
‣ Real User Behavior
‣...
Get Fast = Stay Fast

106. Measure
User Experience
(Dynamic)
Performance
KPI's
Execute
Performance
Optimisation
Performance vs.:
‣Conversion
‣NPS
‣SEO/SEA
‣Usability
‣(Agile) Development
‣...
Performance vs.:
‣Front-End coding (Mobile/Desktop)
‣Image Optimization
‣3d Party management
‣Performance testing
‣Playbook (process)
‣...
Performance vs.:
‣Consumer Profile
‣Competitive benchmark
‣Uptime & Availability
‣(Visual) Perception & UX metrics
‣ Real User Behavior
‣...
Automate, Rinse & Repeat
Get Fast = Stay Fast

107. Another way to look at it

109. Holy Performance, Batman...

110. Remember, responsiveness is
relative to the interaction...

111. Operational
management
Perception
management
Tolerance
management
Responsive
Issue?
Operational
resource
Can issue be
“disguised”?
No/Limited
Yes Yes
No

113. Reframing the audience's perception...

114. Something to install...

115. Page Load Time: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/page-load-time/fploionmjgeclbkemipmkogoaohcdbig
Webpagetest: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webpagetest/jhbepelanbbipbinkkjcadbjjinjmiec
Page Analytics: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/page-analytics-by-google/fnbdnhhicmebfgdgglcdacdapkcihcoh
Resources: https://github.com/micmro/performance-bookmarklet
Ghostery: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ghostery/mlomiejdfkolichcflejclcbmpeaniij
Build With: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/builtwith-technology-prof/dapjbgnjinbpoindlpdmhochffioedbn
Responsive Design: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/responsive-web-design-tes/objclahbaimlfnbjdeobicmmlnbhamkg
Clear Cache: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clear-cache/cppjkneekbjaeellbfkmgnhonkkjfpdn
SPOF: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/spof-o-matic/plikhggfbplemddobondkeogomgoodeg
Browser Plugins:

116. Thanks! More questions?
M: jtjepkema@measureworks.nl
T: @jeroentjepkema
W: www.measureworks.nl
View slides: bit.ly/AWPjune11