Product metrics and goals
OHLs (objectives, hypotheses and learnings)
Also called OHL, Objectives, hypotheses and learnings
A goal format that sets an objective, the hypotheses a team will test to reach it, and what it learned, rather than fixed numeric targets.
How it's worked out
Objective → hypotheses ('we believe X will cause Y') → learnings (what happened, why, what next)
OHLs treat a goal as a puzzle to solve. Instead of committing to a number up front, a team commits to testing its best ideas and reporting what it learned.
Reviews ask how well something worked, what the team learned and what it will try next, which makes it safer to report a hypothesis that failed.
In practice
Objective: new teams get value in their first week. Hypothesis: a guided first project will raise activation from 40% to 50%. Learning: activation rose to 46%; the guide helped admins but not invited members.
Common mistake
Using hypotheses as a way to avoid commitment. Each still needs a measure, so the team can tell whether it was right.
Where it comes from
Proposed by Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking (2021).