Types of outcomes

When we talk about outcomes in product discovery, we’re focusing on 3 main types:

• Business outcomes: These are the big-picture goals that measure how well the company is doing. They might include things like increasing revenue, reducing costs, or expanding into new markets. Business outcomes show the overall success of the company, but they are usually results that we see after implementation, making it harder to use them to guide daily decisions.
• Product outcomes: These are more specific and measure how the product is contributing to the business’s success. For example, they might track how many users are engaging with a particular feature or how satisfied customers are with the product overall. They give the team real-time feedback, helping them make decisions that directly improve the product and, ultimately, the business.
• Traction metrics: These are specific measures that track the usage and adoption of particular features or aspects of the product. This might include how often a new feature is used, how quickly users complete a specific task, or the number of users who upgrade to a premium version. These provide early indicators of whether a product or feature is gaining traction with users.^[1]