In the movie Spiderman, Uncle Ben counsels a young Peter Parker:
With great power, comes great responsibility.
It’s a quote that’s stood the test of time. But what’s lost in the interaction is that Uncle Ben was actually advising his nephew, a junior Product Manager, on the wonder, and destructive abilities, of metrics.
You see, a metric is like a weapon of mass destruction in the wrong hands. When misapplied, metrics can push teams to build things people don’t want, or deafen them to the “real” message a customer base is screaming.
And there are several common, but costly, missteps I’ve seen Product Managers make time and time again with metrics. And they’re even more likely to occur when you’re operating within a fast growing tech rock ship, and every light on the dashboard is flashing in your face.
Here are six missteps I’ve seen PM’s make, and tested solutions for fixing them.
The Myth of Active Users
Rushing to LTV Conclusions
The Sweet Lies NPS Tells You
Multi-Product Attach Panic
Disregarding the Quality of ARPU Growth
Getting Cute with Cumulative Metrics
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