University of Twente Student Theses
Developing a perfomance measurement method in order to evaluate the benefits and costs of web applications
Goretzki, Annika (2013) Developing a perfomance measurement method in order to evaluate the benefits and costs of web applications.
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| Abstract: | This thesis develops a new method to measure the performance of different types of online activities. It addresses the still quite immature, indecisive literature about web measurement and makes valuable contributions to theory and practice by answering research questions. The thesis exposes that the ubiquity of the internet as well as the development of the information and communication technologies create new opportunities for marketers to address their target groups. In order to display the benefits of the resulting online activities, marketing departments of companies need to quantify the performance of their web applications. However, also the XX GmbH faces the common business problem that benefits, business relevance, efficiency and potential for improvement of used web applications remain uncertain. This is ascribable to a missing continuous monitoring, measurement, analysis and reporting procedure based on determined metrics for web performance measurement. Even though online monitoring tools offer new ways for marketing measurement, this thesis argues that no standardized, accepted technique for web performance measurement exists and none of the present measurement approaches could fulfill all identified requirements to quantify web applications. Therefore, the thesis develops a method to assess the performance of different types of web applications based on a set of consistent web metrics. Thereby, theoretical knowledge and practical justification are combined iteratively in three research cycles. The data to develop the new web performance measurement tool is gathered from company documents, scientific literature, expert interviews and web monitoring. Based on the gained information, the structure of the new tool, named “web scoreboard”, is designed, the scores, subgoals and metrics are selected and a grading and weighting system is determined. By using the single case study design with three selected web applications of XX as units of analysis, this thesis also proves the practical applicability of the new method. The web scoreboard indicates the performance of each web application regarding the benefits and the costs during the investigated period. Moreover, the thesis recommends a set of KPIs as well as improvement measures to address the key metrics and introduces a tool for strategic guidance. Even though some recommended conditions still need to be met in order to guarantee an efficient application of the web scoreboard continuously, the outcomes of the thesis can support a firm’s management to exploit the full underlying potential of its web applications. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration MSc (60644) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64259 |
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