How to use KPIs successfully in your work as a product manager
To say the mobile app market is competitive would be an understatement. So knowing how to effectively track an app's performance can be invaluable.
As a Product Manager Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are an essential tool for my role. Whether obtained through Google Analytics or Firebase, KPIs allow you to measure how an app is doing (such as the success of new features) and make informed data-driven decisions to ensure that the product goals align with the client's business objectives.
Important metrics to measure as a product manager
Here are some of the key metrics I look at for our client’s apps:
Sessions: This is the most basic statistic, showing the total number of times an app has been engaged with. Firebase allows you to see which region of the world the engagement took place in, and on what category of device. This can be useful for you to assess the reach and popularity of your app.
MAU: The number of unique users who engage with an app monthly; this can be compared to the downloads number to measure the app's user retention rate. It provides insight into longer-term user engagement trends.
Session Length: The amount of time users spend in an app during individual sessions. Longer session lengths can indicate higher user engagement.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making an in-app purchase. This can indicate the effectiveness of your strategies, such as branding.
App Store Ratings and Reviews: Monitoring ratings and reading user reviews can provide good insight into user satisfaction and areas for improvement. Be wary though - reviews can be misleading as users sometimes use the review section to complain about a service rather than the app itself.
Crash Rate: This is the stat I’m most interested in; the most vital for user experience. Fewer crashes mean a better experience and that means a better rating. At Brightec, we aim to keep our crash-free users above 99.5%.
Understanding these metrics means I can make informed decisions that positively contribute towards the goals of that app. They help answer questions such as “Was that feature worth it?’ and measure the success of new releases. Keeping track of these KPI’s help me identify areas for improvement and communicate performance to stakeholders.
How to apply KPIs as a product manager
There are various ways I would use KPIs in my work:
1. Defining Success
KPIs help me/our client define what success looks like for a particular product or feature. By setting clear measurable goals, they can evaluate how well the product meets the client's business objectives.
For example: When we begin working with a client I will sit down with them to understand their ambitions with their product. My client might have a business goal to generate a certain amount of revenue on the app or perhaps increase the user base. These are clear objectives that we continue towards and factor into product decisions. Then when we release new features, we can easily see if the updates accelerate growth.
2. Making Data-Driven Decisions
KPIs provide data-driven insights that guide my decisions about what should be prioritised. Because we track KPIs such as session lengths and conversion rates, we can see the impact of our work, and that can shape future roadmap decisions.
For example: As part of my role I monitor crash alerts, and when I receive an alert I will prioritise it based on the scale of impact meaning if the alert is severe it is dealt with quickly.
3. Communicating Success and Progress
By keeping a record of how all our apps are performing, we can see the progress and growth of an app, with evidence to communicate the success to the client and show the impact that our work is having on their business.
For example: At the beginning of each month, I record all the KPIs for our products, and communicate this to the client, allowing them to see the progress the app is making. WIth one of our clients this year the report allowed us to clearly see that while the user base only grew slightly, the amount of sessions was up 35% meaning users were far more engaged with the app.
4. Managing risks
By tracking KPIs such as low engagement, low conversion rates and high crash rates we can identify red flags. From this, we can identify problems and opportunities for growth within the app. Risk management can also refer to managing the scope of work too
For example: When we are discovering a feature and find out it may not be as feasible as we though, I would then have to manage the scope of the work to ensure the client still gets what they want from the feature.
For a product manager like myself, KPIs are essential for decision-making, aligning the team on goals/business objectives, and measuring both short-term progress and long-term success. Regularly tracking and analysing KPIs helps the team stay focused on outcomes and communicate the value to stakeholders.
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