Think in measurement, not dashboards

Why this playbook exists

Measuring Products is a free online playbook for product teams who need clearer, more useful product measurement.

It helps teams design and operate measurement systems by connecting:

Workflows → Events → Metrics → Decisions

The site starts before dashboards, reports, and analytics tools. It helps teams decide what behaviour matters, what evidence should be captured, how metrics should be defined, and how measurement should be maintained as products change.

The goal is to help teams create useful evidence, shared understanding, and better product decisions.

Who this site is for

This site is for product teams responsible for designing, delivering, measuring, and improving digital products.

It is especially useful for:

product managers and product owners
UX designers and UX researchers
delivery managers
analytics specialists and data analysts
engineers involved in instrumentation
product leaders

The site assumes no specialist analytics expertise. It is designed to create shared understanding across disciplines.

The problem this site solves

Many organisations approach product analytics by starting with dashboards and metrics.

That is understandable. Dashboards are visible, metrics are familiar, and reporting tools are often already in place.

But dashboard-first measurement often leads to disconnected measures, inconsistent terminology, poor instrumentation, unclear ownership, and limited confidence in decision-making.

Teams may have data and still struggle to answer basic questions:

What should we measure?
Why should we measure it?
How do metrics relate to user behaviour?
How do events relate to workflows?
Who owns measurement?
How do we keep measurement useful over time?

The core premise

Most organisations start with dashboards.

Effective product measurement starts with workflows.

Workflows generate behaviours. Behaviours generate events. Events provide evidence. Metrics transform evidence into insight. Insights support decisions.

Workflow
↓
Events
↓
Metrics
↓
Decisions

A workflow defines the behaviour that matters. Events capture evidence of that behaviour. Metrics help teams interpret the evidence. Decisions give measurement a purpose.

What this site is

This site is:

a practical guide to product measurement
a workflow-first approach to events, metrics, dashboards, and decisions
a set of articles, examples, diagrams, templates, and checklists
a shared language for product, design, research, engineering, analytics, and leadership
a tool-agnostic resource for designing and operating measurement systems

Readers can follow the sections in order or jump directly to the article, template, checklist, or diagram that solves their current problem.

What this site is not

This site is not:

an analytics platform guide
a dashboard design manual
a SQL guide
a data engineering guide
a data science guide
a generic KPI catalogue
a vendor-style analytics framework
a traditional book that must be read from beginning to end

Tools matter, but they do not decide what should be measured.

Reader paths

Use the site in two ways.

Follow the learning path:

Think in measurement
↓
Map workflows
↓
Define events and metrics
↓
Design the system
↓
Operate measurement
↓
Use the toolkit

Or start from a practical need:

Start with the Workflow–Event–Metric model
Map a workflow
Define better events
Create useful metrics
Design decision-led dashboards
Improve measurement ownership
Reduce measurement debt
Use the templates and checklists

The Workflow–Event–Metric model
What product measurement is for
Workflow catalogue template
Measurement review checklist

Key takeaway

Measuring Products exists to help product teams stop starting with dashboards.

The site gives teams a practical way to connect workflows, events, metrics, dashboards, ownership, and decisions into a measurement system they can actually use.