metrics-designlisted

# Metrics Design — playbook Metrics designed AFTER the build are too late. Metrics that cannot drop are vanity. The goal: ONE North Star, a few leading and lagging KPIs around it, and an instrumentation spec engineering can implement without ambiguity. ## 1. The North Star — one number The North Star is the SINGLE number that, if it improves, the strategy is working. - **Tied to a strategy bet**, not to vague "engagement". - **Measurable** in a defined unit and period (e.g., "weekly active payers"). - **Honest** — it has an up direction AND a credible down direction. If it cannot drop, it is vanity. Examples by archetype: - B2B SaaS — weekly active accounts using a key feature. - Consumer app — 7-day retained users. - Marketplace — matched transactions per week. - Dev tool — weekly active projects. ## 2. Leading vs Lagging KPIs Around the North Star, pick 2–3 of each: **Leading** — predictors. They move FIRST. If they improve, the North Star will likely improve later. - Sign-ups, activation rate, onboarding completion, time-to-first-value. **Lagging** — outcomes. They CONFIRM. They follow leading by days or weeks. - Retention cohort curves, revenue, NPS. A KPI set with no leading indicators is rear-view-only. A KPI set with no lagging indicators is "we are doing things" without "are they working?" ## 3. A common frame: AARRR (Pirate Metrics) - **A**cquisition — how do users find us? - **A**ctivation — do they have the first valuable experience? - **R**etention —