SUNDAY REWIND: Product metrics for noobs by Jeff Patton

Product metrics don’t have to be confusing and frustrating, says author and consultant Jeff Patton in this World Product Day talk from 2019. In fact, they are quite simple.

Jeff models product development as having three phases – in phase 1 you have an idea and build it, in phase 2 you launch the product and measure user behaviour, and in phase 3 you address organisational goals and whether the product is sustainable in terms of growth, revenue and costs.

Revenue is a lagging indicator in phase 3,  and this happens after enough people are using your product in phase 2.  In phase 2, we should focus on the leading indicators and Jeff introduces some simple models that he uses to map the adoption experience, the Metrics Mountain, and the Product Journey. The Metrics Mountain replaces the funnel metaphor – Jeff says that the funnel metaphor is fundamentally broken as in practice nothing falls out of the funnel when you shake it.

Watch the original talk: Product metrics for noobs by Jeff Patton