Success Measurement
IN THIS LESSON
For better or worse, there is a right answer to each Success Measurement case.
Unlike product design or root cause analysis questions, there is a real-life answer to the question of what metrics should be used to measure success for any given product. While this may be intimidating, it does mean that our approach for the Success Measurement question can be roughly the same each time, with repeatable skills leading you to the correct answer. Let’s get started by learning an effective overall approach that you can customize for your needs.
Answering a Success Measurement question effectively requires you to do a few things during your answer:
Identify the purpose. Understanding the purpose of the product—the single action that defines its intended use—will allow you to correctly define the product goal and the North Star. We will cover this in detail in a later lesson.
Section 1: Success Definition. Describe the app’s intended use in detail, explain how it drive’s the company’s mission forward, and any other details that are needed to define success. Finish with a goal statement—a single sentence that captures what you explained in the section.
Section 2: Behaviors. Explain what you need your customers to do in order for your product to be successful. Each behavior presented as a Triple Anchor. Organize each behavior by the relevant part of the market (supply or demand). Identify the single behavior that determines your product’s success.
Section 3: Metrics. Define metrics that allow you to measure the behaviors you just identified, and any others that are important for you to understand success. Begin with the North Star, then follow with supporting metrics that measure important behaviors, unhappy paths, and effects beyond your product.
Conclude. Explain how your plan for measuring success will help achieve success.
As with all case interviews, you must also structure your answer effectively.
Continue with this chapter to learn the skills necessary to deliver a great success measurement answer. For hands on practice, schedule a mock interview.