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I call them input metrics and output metrics - you can't usually directly improve output metrics like 'daily active users' - but they are necessary validation o
by mtkd 9y ago
I call them input metrics and output metrics - you can't usually directly improve output metrics like 'daily active users' - but they are necessary validation of operational performance (just don't look at them every day)
input metrics are things that you can impact directly (like site speed - which, if improved, will likely indirectly improve the outputs)
from Jeff Bezos 2009 shareholder statement:
360 of the 452 goals will have a direct impact on customer experience.
The word revenue is used eight times and free cash flow is used only four times.
In the 452 goals, the terms net income, gross profit or margin, and operating profit are not used once.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312510082914/dex991.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312510...
- slededit 9y agoI could easily increase daily active users of even the worst app by paying people in India to use it. This wouldn't exactly help the business - but if that's all you are optimizing for then its not hard to get. In the same vein I could increase people's time in the app by simply making it harder to use. They'd spend more time trying to get what they wanted. There are no benchmarks that cannot be gamed.
- pedalpete 9y agoI'm not sure exactly how this relates to the above comment. But you are making the point that the OP made. You need to pair your metric with an opposing one. Nobody honest person is going to say "we'll increase time on site by decreasing load time". But on my current project, I've had to take into account that the improved load speed and UX has kept time on site the same. This is actually an improvement as uses are able to interact with the app quicker and therefore their relative active time on site is higher.
- true_religion 9y agoIronically, I have seen cases where increased load time lead to higher conversions by getting people to read the page copy rater than skimming it.