North Star framework

What it's for

A product team with ten goals tends to make progress on none. The North Star framework picks one metric that tracks the value customers get, such as nights booked or documents shared, and breaks it into three to five input metrics that teams can work on directly. Work that moves none of the inputs is worth questioning.

A good North Star reflects the value customers get, leads to revenue over time, and is something the team can influence. Revenue itself usually fails the first test.

How to run it

1. Describe the value10 min

   What do customers get when the product works for them?

2. Propose candidates10 min

   Each person suggests a metric that would capture that value.

3. Test and choose10 min1 votes each

   Check each against value, revenue and influence, then vote.

4. Break it into inputs20 min

   Three to five measures that add up to the North Star and that teams can move.

5. Map the work15 min

   Put current and planned work under the input it moves.

Tips

• Inputs are often breadth, depth, frequency and efficiency: how many people, how much, how often, how easily.
• Keep the North Star for years. Change the inputs as you learn which ones really move it.

Where it comes from

Pairs well with