Who This Helps
Founders and operators feeling stuck in endless debates about what to build. The Product Metrics Basics program gives you a clear system to cut through the noise. You'll move from opinions to evidence, so your team builds the right thing, faster.
Mini Case
Sam's team was debating for weeks: should they rebuild the onboarding flow or add a new sharing feature? Everyone had a strong opinion. Sam applied a simple metrics framework. They looked at activation rates (only 35% of new users completed the key first action) and retention data. The numbers were clear. Improving onboarding had a potential 40% lift in active users, while the new feature might only help 5% of their power users. Decision made in two days.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your last week's key dashboard. Look at just three numbers: new users, activated users, and retained users.
- Calculate your activation rate. (Activated Users / New Users). Write it down.
- Find the single biggest drop-off point in your new user's first 7 days. Where do most people leave?
- Brainstorm one tiny experiment to fix that specific drop-off. Could be a better tooltip, a simpler button, or a welcome message.
- Estimate the impact. If you improve that step by 15%, how many more activated users would you have next month?
Avoid These Traps
- Vanity Metrics Trap: Don't get dazzled by big, fluffy numbers like 'total sign-ups'. Focus on the metrics that show real progress, like 'users who completed the core action'.
- Paralysis by Analysis Trap: You don't need perfect data. Use the best you have right now to make a better decision than a pure guess.
- Shiny Object Trap: The new, exciting feature is always tempting. Anchor your priorities to the metric that matters most for your current goal.
- Building Without a Hypothesis Trap: Never just 'build a feature'. Always frame it as: 'We believe changing X will improve metric Y by Z%.'
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you will have identified one specific, metrics-backed experiment to run. You'll present it to your team not with 'I think...' but with 'The data shows our biggest leak is here, so let's test this fix.' Your roadmap meeting just got 50% shorter and 100% more focused. That's a win you can take to the bank.