Who This Helps
You're a founder operator drowning in dashboards. Every week, you stare at 20 numbers and wonder which one actually moves the needle. You need a simple system to cut through the noise and pick the next experiment that matters.
The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course is built for exactly this moment. It helps you define a metric system you trust and build a dashboard that supports calm weekly decisions.
Mini Case
Meet Maya. She runs a small SaaS team. Her dashboard shows 20 metrics, but she can't decide what to work on next. One week, she spends 12 hours building a feature nobody uses. The next week, she runs an experiment that boosts signups by 7% in 3 days.
What changed? She built a weekly scoreboard. She picked one North Star metric (weekly active users), defined 3 supporting metrics (signups, activation rate, churn), and set realistic targets. Now every Monday, she checks her scoreboard and asks: "Which metric is farthest from target?" That's her next experiment.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick one North Star metric. This is the single number that tells you if your product is healthy. For Maya, it was weekly active users. For you, it might be revenue per customer or daily engagement.
- Define 3 supporting metrics. These are the levers that drive your North Star. Examples: signups, activation rate, churn, referral rate, or time to value.
- Set realistic targets. Don't guess. Look at last month's average and add 10%. If your activation rate was 40%, target 44% for next week.
- Build a weekly scoreboard. Create a simple dashboard with just those 4 numbers (North Star + 3 supporting). Update it every Monday morning. No more than 5 minutes.
- Run one experiment per week. Look at your scoreboard. Which metric is farthest from target? That's your priority. Design one small experiment to move it. Test it for 7 days. Measure the result.
Avoid These Traps
- Tracking too many numbers. More than 5 metrics on your scoreboard? You'll freeze. Cut ruthlessly.
- Changing your North Star every month. Stick with one for at least 90 days. Consistency beats perfection.
- Setting targets based on hope. Use real data from last month. If you don't have data, start tracking today.
- Running multiple experiments at once. You won't know what worked. One experiment per week, max.
- Ignoring the scoreboard for a week. Life happens. But if you skip two weeks, you're guessing again.
- Using vague metrics like "engagement." Define it clearly: "daily active users" or "sessions per user." No fuzzy words.
- Forgetting to celebrate wins. When you hit a target, take 5 minutes to acknowledge it. Then move to the next metric.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a working weekly scoreboard with your North Star metric, 3 supporting metrics, and realistic targets. You'll know exactly which experiment to run next week. No more guessing. No more 12-hour detours. Just one focused move that moves the needle.
And honestly? That feels way better than another dashboard full of numbers you ignore. You've got this.