Who This Helps
You are a founder operator juggling a dozen ideas. You need to pick the one experiment that moves the needle this week. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course shows you how to build a simple weekly scoreboard so you stop debating and start doing.
Mini Case
Maya runs a small SaaS team. She had 7 experiment ideas on the board. Her team tracked 20 numbers but couldn't agree on which one mattered most. After building a weekly scoreboard with one North Star metric and three supporting metrics, she cut her decision time from 2 hours to 15 minutes. Her first focused experiment boosted trial sign-ups by 12% in 7 days.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick your North Star metric. This is the one number that tells you if your product is delivering real value. Keep it simple.
- Define three supporting metrics that lead to your North Star. For example, if your North Star is weekly active users, supporting metrics could be sign-ups, activation rate, and retention.
- Set realistic targets for each metric. Use past data or industry benchmarks. Don't guess.
- Build a weekly scoreboard dashboard. List your North Star metric at the top, supporting metrics below. Add a green-yellow-red guardrail for each.
- Review the scoreboard every Monday. Pick the experiment that will move the metric farthest from its target. Run it that week.
Avoid These Traps
- Tracking too many metrics. Stick to one North Star and three supporting metrics. More is noise.
- Setting targets without data. Use at least 4 weeks of history to set realistic numbers.
- Changing your North Star every month. Commit to one for at least a quarter.
- Ignoring guardrails. If a metric turns red, stop everything and fix it first.
- Making the dashboard pretty but useless. Focus on clarity, not colors.
- Discussing experiments for hours. Use the scoreboard to pick one in 15 minutes.
- Forgetting to celebrate wins. When a metric improves, share it with the team.
- Overcomplicating the layout. One page, three sections: North Star, supporting metrics, guardrails.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you will have a weekly scoreboard with one North Star metric, three supporting metrics with targets, and a clear experiment to run next week. You will make faster decisions and focus your team on the highest-impact move. And honestly, that feels a lot better than staring at a spreadsheet full of numbers you don't trust.