Product Collective - 🔢 The best metrics for your product

What metrics are best for your product?

Selecting the right product metrics. Executives want financial outcomes, strategists want systemic impact, managers want team accountability, teams want credit for executing work, planners want to track progress, ops wants to know that systems are stable. They’re all correct, so how do we select metrics that satisfy everyone? Jason Cohen describes a novel system for selecting and presenting product KPIs, satisfying not only the product team but also stakeholders, executives, and customers. (via Jason Cohen) 

A guide to product metrics and KPIs. Choosing the right metrics and analysis methods to track them can make the difference between delivering an OK product and delivering a great product. Sara Nguyen discusses product metrics, their benefits, and how teams can use product metrics data to measure the success and health of their product. (via LogRocket) 

 Continues below...

What if your leader isn't on board with Discovery?

Recently, I had the opportunity to join a small group video chat with a group of Product Managers and Product Leaders in collaboration with the team at Gigantic (who we work with to offer our Product Collective training services). I was asked to talk a bit about Customer Development and Discovery, as it’s one of the modules I lead as an instructor for one of our courses. One of the group members brought up a challenge they’re facing with Discovery, though. Their leadership isn’t bought in. So… now what?

As product people, sometimes take Customer Discovery for granted. Of course, it’s an essential part of what we do. But what if the leadership in your organization doesn’t see its value? We talked through a few ideas:

1. Educate with Empathy: Begin by understanding their concerns. Are they worried about time, resources, or ROI? Address these concerns by illustrating how Discovery can save costs in the long run by avoiding pitfalls and misguided efforts.
2. Showcase Success Stories: Highlight instances, either within your organization or from industry leaders, where a strong Discovery phase led to successful products. Real-world examples can be so powerful.
3. Quantify the Risks of Skipping: Whether it's the costs of late-stage changes, customer dissatisfaction, or failed product launches, use data and metrics to make your case.
4. Engage Them in the Process: Involve leadership in some Discovery activities. When they witness firsthand the insights garnered, they're more likely to become advocates.

If leadership is skeptical about the value of Discovery, then face that challenge head-on. Using a mix of data, real-world examples, and pilot projects can turn skeptics into champions, ensuring that your products are built on a foundation of genuine user insights and needs. The one thing you don’t want to do is give in and just ignore Discovery. That… usually doesn’t end well.

Product Managers’ guide for selecting the right product metrics framework. What’s a product metrics framework? What are its best-known examples? And how to choose one? Team Userpilot answers those questions and explains how to implement product metrics frameworks. (via Userpilot) 

5 Metrics every Product Manager should know. Product metrics, sometimes called key performance indicators, are quantifiable data points that an organization tracks and analyzes to gauge a product’s success. They measure everything from user behavior to market performance. It’s important to note that not all product metrics are created equal. In fact, some are more valuable than others.The folks at ProductPlan describe 5 metrics that every product manager should track. (via ProductPlan) 

Are you tracking the right product metrics? It’s a product manager’s job to define the right metrics and KPIs for their products and businesses. There are several pieces to the metrics puzzle, but it’s difficult to put the pieces together. Eira Hayward gathered together some expert opinion and cautionary tales to help you find what you need to look out for when dealing with product metrics and stop it all from going wrong. (via Mind the Product) 

GROWTH DESIGN

AI FOR PRODUCT MANAGEMENT