Measuring product success

📘What it really is

• Measure outcomes, not just output. Shipping features isn't success; users getting value is.
• Useful metrics:
• a north-star metric: one number that best reflects value for users, such as completed sessions per week;
• funnel metrics: visit → search → view tutor → choose slot → pay → attend; where do people drop out?
• activation: the share of new users who reach the key value moment (first completed session);
• retention: the share who come back (book a second session within 30 days); often the most important sign of real value;
• satisfaction: ratings, Net Promoter Score, support complaints;

• business: revenue, cost per booking (Module 95), tutor earnings.

• Avoid vanity metrics: sign-ups or page views that look good but don't show value.

• Analytics with privacy (Module 79): collect only what you need, with consent where required; prefer privacy-friendly tools (Plausible, self-hosted options), and keep personal data out of analytics events.

• Experiments (A/B tests): show two versions to random groups and compare a metric; useful with enough traffic, and run for long enough to be meaningful. With small numbers, talking to users and watching sessions teaches more.

• Combine numbers with conversations: metrics show what happens; research (Lesson 1) shows why.

• A regular product review: each month, look at the metrics against the MVP's success criteria, decide what to change, and update the roadmap.