product-metrics

Metrics Architecture

Structure product measurement into three layers, each serving a distinct purpose.

North Star Metric

A single indicator that captures the fundamental value the product delivers. Selection criteria:

• Value-reflective: Increases when users extract more benefit from the product
• Forward-looking: Reliably predicts sustained business outcomes like revenue and retention
• Influenceable: The product team's work can demonstrably move it
• Broadly understood: Anyone in the organization can grasp its meaning and significance

Illustrative North Star choices by product category:

• Team collaboration platform: Weekly active teams where three or more members contribute
• Two-sided marketplace: Weekly completed transactions
• Enterprise SaaS: Weekly active users who execute the core workflow
• Media or content product: Weekly minutes of engaged consumption
• Developer tooling: Weekly production deployments facilitated by the tool