Using Digital Analytics to Secure Project Funding outlines a process for justifying project funding requests using data analytics. The process involves: 1) Clearly defining the proposed feature and aligning it with strategic initiatives. 2) Using qualitative and quantitative metrics like impressions, click-through rates, and heat maps to demonstrate a feature's value. 3) Competitive research to show how others are implementing similar features and whether it gives them an advantage. 4) Comparative research and applying market values to define a feature's value for the organization. 5) Leveraging analytics to calculate the delivered value and align it with costs, including the feature's lifespan, value growth over time, and payback period.

1. Using Digital Analytics
to Secure Project Funding
Todd A. Gregory, Digital Analyst, Penn State

2. How to Start: Break it down!
• Rule #1: Don’t talk about performance at the
site level
• Look at your site as a set of features and their
components
• Create a consistent way of talking about your
features and clearly document

3. Project Definition
• Clearly identify and define the feature(s) you
want to implement
• Align it with a strategic initiative
• Gather estimated costs to produce
#HEA15@ToddAGregory

4. Feature Definition:
Qualitative & Quantitative Value
• Great Photography
• Catchy Headline
• Blurb that summarizes
the story
• Link to story
KPIs
• Impressions
• Click-through Rate
• Article heat maps

5. Competitive Research:
Helps Define Need
• Who else has this feature? (up to 10)
• Are they doing a good job? (score sheets)
• What are the feature components?
• Does it give them a competitive advantage?

6. Comparative Research:
Helps define Value

7. Apply Market Value to to Define
Feature Value

8. Leverage Analytics to Calculate
Delivered Value

9. Align value delivered with spend
Make sure to document and discuss:
• Expected lifespan of feature
• Value growth modeling (based on Analytics
trends)
• How long before feature recoups its investment
• What is the price of not implementing the
feature?
This is your “reality check” before asking for
funding!

10. Show your work
• Have all of your raw data at your fingertips
and be prepared to walk through it
• Have the formulas built out in a spreadsheet
so you can run multiple scenarios
• Consider a best/worst case scenario

11. Put in context to show priority
This is how we build our feature roadmap.
We do this analysis on every feature.