product-analytics

name	product-analytics
description	Use when defining product KPIs, building metric dashboards, running cohort or retention analysis, or interpreting feature adoption trends across product stages.

Product Analytics

Define, track, and interpret product metrics across discovery, growth, and mature product stages.

When To Use

Use this skill for:

• Metric framework selection (AARRR, North Star, HEART)
• KPI definition by product stage (pre-PMF, growth, mature)
• Dashboard design and metric hierarchy
• Cohort and retention analysis
• Feature adoption and funnel interpretation

Workflow

1. Select metric framework

• AARRR for growth loops and funnel visibility
• North Star for cross-functional strategic alignment
• HEART for UX quality and user experience measurement

2. Define stage-appropriate KPIs

• Pre-PMF: activation, early retention, qualitative success
• Growth: acquisition efficiency, expansion, conversion velocity
• Mature: retention depth, revenue quality, operational efficiency

3. Design dashboard layers

• Executive layer: 5-7 directional metrics
• Product health layer: acquisition, activation, retention, engagement
• Feature layer: adoption, depth, repeat usage, outcome correlation

4. Run cohort + retention analysis

• Segment by signup cohort or feature exposure cohort
• Compare retention curves, not single-point snapshots
• Identify inflection points around onboarding and first value moment

5. Interpret and act

• Connect metric movement to product changes and release timeline
• Distinguish signal from noise using period-over-period context
• Propose one clear product action per major metric risk/opportunity

KPI Guidance By Stage

Pre-PMF

• Activation rate
• Week-1 retention
• Time-to-first-value
• Problem-solution fit interview score

Growth

• Funnel conversion by stage
• Monthly retained users
• Feature adoption among new cohorts
• Expansion / upsell proxy metrics

Mature

• Net revenue retention aligned product metrics
• Power-user share and depth of use
• Churn risk indicators by segment
• Reliability and support-deflection product metrics

Dashboard Design Principles

• Show trends, not isolated point estimates.
• Keep one owner per KPI.
• Pair each KPI with target, threshold, and decision rule.
• Use cohort and segment filters by default.
• Prefer comparable time windows (weekly vs weekly, monthly vs monthly).

See:

• references/metrics-frameworks.md
• references/dashboard-templates.md

Cohort Analysis Method

1. Define cohort anchor event (signup, activation, first purchase).
2. Define retained behavior (active day, key action, repeat session).
3. Build retention matrix by cohort week/month and age period.
4. Compare curve shape across cohorts.
5. Flag early drop points and investigate journey friction.

Retention Curve Interpretation

• Sharp early drop, low plateau: onboarding mismatch or weak initial value.
• Moderate drop, stable plateau: healthy core audience with predictable churn.
• Flattening at low level: product used occasionally, revisit value metric.
• Improving newer cohorts: onboarding or positioning improvements are working.

Analysis Methods

Use spreadsheet, SQL, BI, or notebook calculations for:

• Retention rate calculations by cohort age
• Cohort table generation
• Basic funnel conversion analysis

Keep inputs and formulas visible: define the cohort anchor event, retained behavior, time grain, funnel stages, and denominator for every conversion rate.