As consultants working with various clients and products in SaaS, we have seen firsthand the impact of measuring success with the right metrics.
On a soccer field, there is always a goal post. A goal post signifies the goal (or key metric) of a soccer match - score a point by sending the ball into the opponent’s goal post. In a similar vein to soccer, in a SaaS business, you want to clearly know what your product goals are, and how to measure them properly.
However, unlike a soccer game, measuring success in product management is notoriously tricky without the right framework.
Good metrics help teams focus, align, and make decisions. A good metrics framework prevents these mistakes by forcing clarity: What are we trying to achieve, and how will we know if we’re getting there?
This post will explore popular frameworks that help define reliable and actionable product metrics.
Best for: Early-stage, growth-driven products
Focus: The user lifecycle / conversion funnel
Why it works: AARRR breaks down the entire user journey into distinct phases, making it easier to diagnose growth problems.
Why it’s useful: AARRR metrics force you to zoom out and see where your funnel is leaking. If you're acquiring users but not retaining them, you don’t have a growth problem; you have a product (retention) problem.
Best for: Mature products focusing on the quality of the user experience
Focus: Experience over growth
Why it works: HEART helps balance qualitative and quantitative user experience insights. It reminds teams that satisfaction and ease of use matter just as much as usage statistics.
Why it’s useful:It broadens the conversation beyond "Are people using it?" to "Are people succeeding, and are they happy while doing it?"
Best for: Aligning the entire organization
Focus: Long-term value creation
Why it works: A North Star Metric captures the core value your product delivers to users. It’s a forcing function for prioritization. Driving this number up is what matters most.
Why it’s useful: NSM prevents teams from optimizing for local maxima. It aligns product, marketing, sales, and leadership around a shared definition of progress.
Tip: Beware of choosing something too broad ("engagement") or too narrow ("DAUs"). Your NSM should link to sustainable growth.
Best for: Understanding cause and effect in product work
Focus: Inputs drive outputs
Why it works:It separates activities you control (inputs) from business results you influence (outputs). This helps teams focus on leading indicators without losing sight of ultimate outcomes.
Why it’s useful:
Common mistake:
Teams often mistake outputs (such as revenue and retention) as the things to directly manage, rather than optimizing the inputs or drivers (such as features and improvements) that influence them.
OKRs are a goal-setting framework comprising:
OKRs emphasize clarity, alignment, and measurable progress, and often with a collaborative, bottom-up process
Best for: Company-wide alignment on prioritiesFocus: Tying metrics to goals
Why it works: OKRs are powerful because they translate ambition into action. Metrics here aren’t standalone but they’re the proof that your goals are being achieved.Tip: Keep OKRs specific, measurable, and time-bound. Avoid "feel-good" or too broad metrics.
How OKRs Differ from the Inputs vs. Outputs Framework
Best for: Deep product-market fit and customer understandingFocus: Measuring success through the user’s lens
Why it works:JTBD reframes product success as helping customers "make progress" in their lives. Your metrics should answer: Are we helping users achieve the outcome they hired us for?
Why it’s useful:It forces empathy. Metrics are no longer about features; they’re about outcomes for real people using your product.
Picking the right framework is dependent on what your product goals are at a given point in time.
Metrics are not magic. Frameworks won’t solve problems on their own, but they provide clarity. Choose one that fits your stage, goals, and audience. As your product evolves, be sure to revisit your metric frameworks regularly.
