Happiness as an Indicator of Project Success

As a business analyst it is my goal to detail the business processes that are impacted when implementing new technologies.  Through the use of persona development, we often identify the key users of the new processes and how they will act and react when engaging in a new website or CRM solution. It is these personas that our creative and development teams use when they are creating the wire-frames and technology recommendations to ensure the goals of the project are consistent with the traits of each user. These personas look at the end customer.  There is a tone of accomplishment when developing these personas in that any solution we recommend should create a positive experience for each identified persona.

I read an article over the weekend about the aspect of employee happiness as a key contributor to productivity. It details how a happy employee is more productive, creative and generally more motivated. In the research from the article, I find it compelling that by adding the lens of happiness as it relates to employees that are impacted by our technology recommendations, we can drive success not only in the specific project we are working on, but throughout the organization. 

  * Americans now feel worse about their jobs — and work environments — than ever before
  * Gallup estimates the cost of America’s disengagement crisis at a staggering $300 billion in lost productivity annually
  * Inner work life has a profound impact on workers’ creativity, productivity, commitment and collegiality
  * Employees are far more likely to have new ideas on days when they feel happier
  * Of all the events that engage people at work, the single most important — by far — is simply making progress in meaningful work
  * 95 percent of these (surveyed) managers failed to recognize that progress in meaningful work is the primary motivator, well ahead of traditional incentives like raises and bonuses

As an analyst, I have never consciously thought about the happiness factor when detailing user requirements, but I often put myself in the shoes of the user. I find myself advocating for the user, ensuring they have a positive experience.

I am now considering developing a key metric to incorporate into my user stories and requirements that documents employee/user morale. If we are able to recommend and implement a new marketing campaign or CRM implementation that not only returns the targeted ROI, but allows an employee to feel more productive, and to allow management to provide positive feedback, think of the factor of success throughout the organization.

What are your thoughts? Can happiness be used as a filter when defining user requirements and recommending marketing and technology solutions?