One of the most expensive mistakes in product analytics is optimizing for proxy metrics instead of actual value.
A team improves:
• clicks
• screen views
• onboarding completion
• session duration
Everything looks “better”.
But retention stays flat.
Revenue doesn’t move.
Users still leave.
Why?
Because many metrics only describe activity.
Not value.
This happens surprisingly often when teams become too dashboard-driven.
It’s easy to optimize numbers that move quickly.
It’s much harder to identify metrics that actually reflect meaningful product impact.
For example:
More onboarding completion does not automatically mean better activation.
More notifications opened does not automatically mean higher retention.
More session time does not automatically mean better product experience.
Sometimes it only means users became more confused.
One of the most important product skills is distinguishing:
• activity metrics
from
• value metrics
Otherwise teams can spend months optimizing movement without improving the business itself.
#productmanagement #analytics #growth #productanalytics #startup #mobiledevelopment #abtesting #saas #softwareengineering
Originally published on LinkedIn by X91 Tech.
