Understanding KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are specific measurements that show how well your product or business is performing. They help teams understand if they're meeting important goals and where they might need to improve.

Good KPIs connect directly to your business goals and provide actionable insights. For example, a product team might track metrics like how many new users sign up each month, how long people stay as customers, or how much revenue comes from each user. These numbers tell a clear story about product performance.

What makes KPIs different from regular metrics is their strategic importance. While you could measure countless things about your product, KPIs focus only on the measurements that truly matter for success. This helps teams avoid "vanity metrics" that look impressive but don't actually help make better decisions.