Web analytics are a standard for online businesses, and product managers rely heavily on web analytics data when making product decisions. Stats like website traffic, conversions, in-app events, or unique users are frequently used as indicators of business health, because they help identify if the product is moving in the right direction or not.

Notifications are a crucial component of most products, but they come with a catch. None of us likes to be interrupted, yet we want to see new information — like direct messages, time-sensitive tasks, or attractive product updates — as soon as it’s available. How can you balance these two needs? It can be frustrating for users when a product or service doesn’t allow them to control their notification experience.

As a product manager, have you ever had to say no to improving your app’s notifications because of how complex the project seemed? If yes, you’re not alone. At Courier, we frequently see product teams deciding not to work on notifications. And PMs aren’t making that decision because a good notification experience is not important for their SaaS product or service — quite the opposite.

Your product’s notification experience can make or break how your users perceive your application. That’s why getting the notification experience right should be at the forefront of product managers’ minds. But what, exactly, is a great notification experience for a mobile or web app? Here at Courier, we often hear this question from product managers.

Or, how we’re destroying users’ trust, and how to get it back. Check out the first post in this series as well: Building a Great UX Outside of Your App. There is a direct connection between all the unnecessary notifications you get on your phone and the sub-prime financial crisis of 2008. The connection is human behavior in a large and anonymous marketplace where bad behavior is rarely punished.

Recently I had a chance to talk to DevOps Minneapolis about the true nature of user experience. The audience found this information to be particularly interesting, so I thought it would be helpful to share it with a wider audience. This post will be the first in a series of three posts that will discuss user experience beyond your app’s UI and how you can optimize it. So where is your user experience? More generally, where does your application happen?

Follow along with the video tutorial: We are launching our first hackathon next week, and giving away over $1K in prizes! Join us in building a cool project and winning any of the following prizes 🏆 Additionally, everyone who submits a project successfully integrating the Courier API will receive a $20 Amazon gift card! Not sure where to start? In this tutorial, we will be building a Node.js app that sends multi-channel notifications in morse code.