Pawel Huryn
114 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
114 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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description: Define your North Star Metric and supporting input metrics — classify the business game and validate against best practices
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argument-hint: "<product or business>"
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---
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# /north-star -- North Star Metric Definition
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Identify the single metric that best captures the value your product delivers, plus the input metrics that drive it. Classifies your business game and validates against proven criteria.
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## Invocation
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```
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/north-star B2B SaaS for team collaboration
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/north-star Consumer fitness app monetized through subscriptions
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/north-star Help me fix our North Star — we're tracking DAU but it doesn't feel right
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```
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## Workflow
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### Step 1: Understand the Product
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Ask:
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- What is the product? What value does it deliver to users?
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- What's the business model? (subscription, transaction, advertising, marketplace)
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- Current metrics being tracked (if any)
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- Why is this needed now? (new product, existing metric feels wrong, team alignment)
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### Step 2: Classify the Business Game
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Apply the **north-star-metric** skill:
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Identify which game the product is playing:
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- **Attention**: Revenue from user time/engagement (media, social, ad-supported)
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- **Transaction**: Revenue from purchases (e-commerce, marketplace)
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- **Productivity**: Revenue from efficiency gains (SaaS, tools, B2B)
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The game determines what kind of North Star makes sense.
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### Step 3: Define the North Star
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- Propose 2-3 North Star candidates
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- Validate each against 7 criteria:
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1. Expresses value delivered to customers
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2. Is a leading indicator of revenue
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3. Is measurable and trackable
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4. Is understandable by the whole team
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5. Is actionable (teams can influence it)
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6. Is not a vanity metric
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7. Is not gameable without delivering real value
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- Recommend the strongest candidate with rationale
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### Step 4: Define Input Metrics
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For the selected North Star, identify 3-5 input metrics:
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- Each input metric should be a lever that directly drives the North Star
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- Each should be ownable by a specific team
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- Together, inputs should be MECE in explaining North Star movement
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### Step 5: Generate Metrics Framework
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```
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## North Star Framework: [Product]
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**Business Game**: [Attention / Transaction / Productivity]
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### North Star Metric
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**Metric**: [precise name]
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**Definition**: [formula or measurement method]
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**Why this metric**: [explains value, leads revenue, is actionable]
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**Current value**: [if known]
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**Target**: [goal]
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### Validation
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| Criterion | Pass? | Notes |
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|----------|-------|-------|
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| Expresses value | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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| Leading indicator | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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| Measurable | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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| Understandable | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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| Actionable | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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| Not vanity | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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| Not gameable | [Y/N] | [explanation] |
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### Input Metrics
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| Input Metric | Drives North Star By | Owner | Current | Target |
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|-------------|---------------------|-------|---------|--------|
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### Metrics Constellation
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[Visual tree showing North Star → Input Metrics → Team Actions]
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### Counter-Metrics
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| Metric | Protects Against |
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|--------|-----------------|
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### Anti-Patterns Avoided
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[Why we didn't choose DAU, revenue, or other common but flawed metrics]
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```
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Save as markdown.
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### Step 6: Offer Next Steps
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- "Want me to **build a full metrics dashboard** around this?"
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- "Should I **create OKRs** based on these metrics?"
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- "Want me to **write SQL queries** to compute these metrics?"
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## Notes
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- The North Star should measure *value delivered*, not just *activity* — "daily active users" is only good if active use = value delivery
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- Revenue is never a good North Star — it's a lagging indicator that doesn't capture user value
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- Input metrics are what make the framework actionable — without them, the North Star is just a vanity dashboard
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- Revisit the North Star annually or when the business model changes significantly
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- Counter-metrics prevent Goodhart's Law — when a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a good metric
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