I read Gary Angel's long post (they almost always long) about Finding a Home for Web Measurement, a subject I am not dispassionate about.
I'll say this, in my experience, where ever Web Measurement is housed in your organization - it's probably in the wrong place.
Or....maybe not.
Seriously, you've got 3 choices Gary has put forth - he gives the pros and cons of each one - none being perfect and there being no "right" or "wrong" answer - it depends on the organization.
- IT
- Marketing
- Strategy
That's it - your choices.
If it's IT, you get stuff done on the Website level but often miss the marketing/branding message.
If it's Marketing, you get to measure Campaigns well enough, but you can't often get the technical stuff done (and 80% of your issues are technical ones).
If it's Strategy, you get a nice blend except Strategists in organizations typically lose all the power struggles (most organizations all have departments that each see themselves as more important than all the others ..how typical - tribal, almost).
But one thing Gary Angel said I found most interesting ... and yet debatable:
"....As an example, we work for one company (and a public company at that) where one very Senior Executive is so smart, powerful and hands-on that the entire web measurement effort is pretty much focused (rightly, I think) on providing answers to his questions. That isn’t a model I’d necessarily recommend. But it’s the right model for that company with that person and it insures that the web measurement is valuable and directive for the company as a whole."
Can you see the problem with a setup like this? I can. A group structured around an individual depends on that individual to function.
While there's always reorgs to fix things, re-tune the engine - so to speak - still, building a department around a person is always a mistake in the long run - even if it works in the short term and intermediate term. Why?
Because people leave, people are expendable - it's much better to set up the right system - because that super smart person will leave - a mess for someone else to figure out.
Yes, overall I think Strategy is the right place for Web Measurement - but let's be clear what we're calling "Strategy". ...
In some organizations I know of, "Strategy" is actually "Strategy and Enablement" yet in practice it's actually more Enablement and not Strategy as generally understood. The real Strategy is done in a different department .....
So, if your going to put Web Measurement into "Strategy" department ..make sure it's really the Strategy department in function. Names don't mean much - look at the tasks and roles groups perform - and you can figure out how the organization is really sliced up.
Gary's post are always good...and by the way...he's one of my Co-Sponsors for a seat on the Board of the Web Analytics Association.
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