Good metrics have causality. They tell stories. They say “if this then that”. They clearly measure progress towards a specific goal: run fast win race, study hard pass test, save money buy house, etc.

Goals say where you want to go. Strategies say how you plan to get there. Metrics measure your progress, and objectives are like checkpoints along the way.

Metrics need stories to stay grounded.

It’s easy to get lost in metrics, especially when they get more attention than goals. But every so often we need that reminder: What are we measuring? Why are we measuring it? How much is good enough?

When in doubt, follow your users’ stories.

Here’s an example from this weekend: I need a new shelving unit for my closet, so I go to lowes.com and search “closet kit”. I don’t know which item to choose so I click on the “closet configurator” app. I fill out my room specs and click through the designs, then select one and add it to my cart. I go back and forth searching for nearby stores with enough parts in stock so I can schedule the fewest number of pickups as soon as possible (and not have to wait on additional shipping). I place multiple orders and wait for each store’s email notification that my parts are ready. In one round trip, I go to each store and use curbside pickup to collect my purchases.

There’s a lot to measure here!

But how do we decide?

Often times it’s easier to define metrics by working backwards from a goal.

Just spitballing, let’s say we’re Lowe’s and our goal is to enable customers to have stress-free, same-day purchase & pickup for DIY home improvement projects. We do this by providing product search, a room design tool, in-store availability, and curbside pickup. Our most important metrics are the realtime accuracy of product availability and the response time for curbside pickup.

Obviously, there are other metrics you could (and perhaps should) focus on. We completely left out things like speed of search, or the room design tool’s ease-of-use, or the number of times a user had to modify their order before feeling comfortable clicking submit.

The important thing is that your metrics have a clear tie-in back to your main goal: if this then that.

Look for metrics that tell a story.