Product Analytics

# Dashboard Templates

## 1. Executive Dashboard Template

Purpose: quick company-level product signal for leadership.

Sections:
1. North Star trend (current, target, trailing 12 periods)
2. Growth summary (new users/accounts, activation)
3. Retention summary (short-term + medium-term cohorts)
4. Revenue-linked product indicators
5. Risks and actions

Suggested KPI block:

| KPI | Current | Target | Delta | Owner | Action |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---|---|
| North Star |  |  |  |  |  |
| Activation Rate |  |  |  |  |  |
| W8 Retention |  |  |  |  |  |
| Paid Conversion |  |  |  |  |  |

## 2. Product Health Dashboard Template

Purpose: monitor full user journey and detect bottlenecks.

Sections:
1. Acquisition funnel by channel/segment
2. Activation funnel with drop-off points
3. Cohort retention matrix + curve chart
4. Feature adoption distribution
5. Reliability metrics tied to user outcomes

Recommended views:
- Weekly cohort retention heatmap
- Funnel stage conversion waterfall
- Segment comparison (SMB vs enterprise)
- New vs returning user behavior split

## 3. Feature Adoption Dashboard Template

Purpose: evaluate feature launch quality and ongoing usage.

Sections:
1. Exposure and eligibility count
2. First-use adoption rate
3. Repeat usage rate (2nd, 3rd, nth use)
4. Time-to-adoption from signup/activation
5. Impact on primary outcomes (retention, conversion)

Adoption KPI examples:

| Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| First-use adoption | Users who used feature at least once / eligible users |
| Repeat adoption | Users with 2+ uses / users with first use |
| Sustained adoption | Users with usage in 3 of last 4 weeks |
| Time to adoption | Median days from eligibility to first use |

## Dashboard Design Rules

- Keep each dashboard to one decision horizon (weekly ops vs quarterly strategy).
- Always annotate major product releases on charts.
- Add threshold bands for risk detection.
- Show metric definitions next to charts.
- Include a short "what changed" narrative block.


# Metrics Frameworks

## AARRR (Pirate Metrics)

AARRR breaks the product journey into five stages.

1. Acquisition
- How users discover the product
- Example metrics: signups, CAC, channel conversion

2. Activation
- First meaningful value moment
- Example metrics: activation rate, time-to-first-value

3. Retention
- Ongoing user return behavior
- Example metrics: D7/W4 retention, rolling retained users

4. Revenue
- Monetization and value capture
- Example metrics: conversion to paid, ARPU, expansion revenue

5. Referral
- Organic growth from existing users
- Example metrics: referral rate, invite conversion, K-factor

## North Star Metric Framework

North Star = metric capturing long-term customer value delivered.

### North Star Criteria
- Reflects real user value
- Sensitive to product improvements
- Predictive of sustainable growth
- Understandable across functions

### Example North Star Metrics
- Collaboration SaaS: weekly active teams
- Marketplace: successful transactions per active buyer
- Content product: hours of qualified consumption

### Input Metrics
Track levers that influence the North Star:
- Acquisition quality
- Activation quality
- Engagement depth
- Retention durability

## HEART Framework

HEART is a UX-oriented framework from Google.

- Happiness: satisfaction, NPS, perceived quality
- Engagement: interaction depth/frequency
- Adoption: first-time use of features/products
- Retention: return behavior over time
- Task Success: completion rate, error rate, time on task

### HEART + Goals-Signals-Metrics
1. Goals: what UX outcome you want
2. Signals: observed behavior indicating movement
3. Metrics: measurable indicator for each signal

## Framework Selection Guide

| Situation | Recommended Framework |
|---|---|
| Early growth and funnel bottlenecks | AARRR |
| Company-wide strategic alignment | North Star |
| UX and product quality optimization | HEART |
| Mixed maturity org | North Star + AARRR operational layers |

## Exampl