When to consider investing in a DAP

If you’re unsure when to evaluate a DAP (or seriously consider switching from your current provider), this section might help guide you. 

Milestones when others evaluate DAPs

Companies typically purchase a DAP solution when they are:

  • Icons 300 Launching a self-service motion (or focusing on PLG)
  • Icons 300 Creating a product growth team / squad
  • Icons 300 Making pricing changes to offer lower or free price points
  • Icons 300 Planning a significant change to your product or UX (e.g. a redesign)
  • Icons 300 About to add a second or additional product line
  • Icons 300 Additional GTM headcount unavailable (i.e. more efficient growth needed)
  • Icons 300 Increasing support efficiency (or reducing the size of the support team)
  • Icons 300 Losing deals or customers due to usability or lack of adoption/engagement
  • Icons 300 Struggling to get sufficient user feedback at scale
  • Icons 300 Changing / buying adjacent tooling (e.g. Amplitude for product analytics or Zendesk for support)
  • Icons 300 New product leadership familiar with DAPs at prior role

These are good moments to consider purchasing and implementing a DAP because you will have real momentum within your organization around a change, which can support the effort for an evaluation. You might also be able to show immediate impact and return at these stages.

Of course you don't need to wait to have a problem to invest in a DAP; you may want to invest early to help build the muscle within your organization to leverage product "as a channel" for growth, or to get better at running more UX experiments / tests to improve key metrics.

➡️ Already know you need a DAP?

Download our DAP Evaluation Templates to kick off the research a step ahead of others.

Indications that you should consider switching your DAP

If you already have an existing DAP solution, it can be a heavy lift to make the switch to another provider, but if you're experiencing the following symptoms then the problem may be with your tool and it could be wise to consider a switch:

  • 1 Low usage: If you're using your DAP minimally because it's hard to use, or you have to involve engineers anyway and you don't see strong benefits of using it.
  • 2 Low trust: If you have concerns about reliability or the wrong experience showing to users, or find it hard to test accurately, or get the support you need when troubleshooting.
  • 3 Low pride: If the experiences you build don't look great or feel like a complementary part of your design system that improves the overall UX for your users

We know that first-generation DAPs didn't always meet the expectations they set and in some cases they feel like a necessary evil rather than a wonderful solution. This doesn't mean that the concept of a DAP is flawed; it may just be a poor implementation or the wrong choice of DAP for your team and needs!