(2018-04-23) Hegde Every Product Needs A North Star Metric Heres How To Find Yours

Sandhya Hegde: Every Product Needs a North Star Metric: Here’s How to Find Yours. This article is our first deep dive in a series on the north star metric.

Without an impact driven culture in product, you can’t influence the destiny of your business. Without a north star, you can’t have a product-led company.

What is a north star metric and why does it matter?

Question 1: What are some examples of good north star metrics?

*A north star metric should consist of 2 parts:()

• a statement of your product vision and
• a metric that serves as a key measure of your current product strategy.

Your north star metric must be derived from a true understanding of what action provides realized value to the customer

A good north star is a leading indicator of success

finding your “customer’s a-ha moment”. If you can pinpoint the early actions that lead to your customers becoming retained

Question 2: Should a company only have one product north star?

Not necessarily

optimum balance between 1-3

Every north star metric can have 4 dimensions - breadth, depth, frequency and efficiency

Question 3: How do you select a good product north star?

we have learned that all digital products are playing one of three possible games:

• The Attention Game: How much of your customers’ time can you capture in your product
• The Transaction Game: How many commercial transactions does your user make on your platform
• The Productivity Game: How many high value digital tasks can your customer perform in your product

Focusing on one game is critical to a focused product strategy and hence a good north star.

How to use the north star to drive product strategy.