Choosing, refining, and tracking product metrics

Smart product teams often build products with limited impact due to inadequate measurement practices, and selecting appropriate metrics is crucial for making informed product decisions. Product metrics can be categorized into six main types: health, usage, adoption, satisfaction, ecosystem, and outcome metrics, each providing different insights into the product's performance and user engagement. A well-rounded approach involves defining a small set of key metrics (KMs) that reflect the product’s progress toward strategic goals and leading metrics (LMs) that offer insights on short-term activities and experiments. While tracking metrics, teams should avoid false precision and use metrics as one source of input among many, emphasizing the importance of understanding the context and the "why" behind each metric. Shreyas Doshi, who played a significant role in product management at Stripe, Twitter, Google, and Yahoo, advises that while metrics are essential, great product managers also rely on their judgment and ability to adapt their approach as needed.