Enhancing User Satisfaction Metrics

Do you sometimes feel frustration, as you are building a product to get the management off your back, rather than address the users? Here are 6 ways to become user-centric again: 1) Prioritize in a transparent way This is a great place to start. If your backlog is prioritized based on data and potential opportunity, risk, and cost, it will be easier to put forth user-centric initiatives ahead of those that came from upstairs. At the very least, you will have a good basis for an educated discussion. 2) Utilize users' perspective using user stories and personas If your team understands the users and their problems, it will be easier to craft something great that will later appeal to the same users. Just keep up the empathy of creating something by people for other people, and not get some metric magically go up! 3) Understand user problems If everyone in the company can see the themes that come from user feedback, it will be way harder to ignore it in favor of some corporate nonsense. Let those voices be heard by everyone! What if there are 100,000s of voices? Here is where this post's partner comes in: Productboard , and their new release: Productboard Pulse. It's a powerful new tool you can use either as a standalone solution or to elevate your work within an existing Productboard product management suite. This new AI will help you make sense of all the feedback and comments, quickly transforming them into actionable, user-centric tasks. Check out the comments for more details :) Now, back to the post: 4) Have the NPS and user ratings at the forefront The same goes for a single metric representing the general product sentiment. If the number is low or, worse, is going down and everyone can see that, the responsible Product Manager has to react. 5) Focus on your product goals Now, upstairs mandates might not be the only distraction you face when trying to improve your product. To survive them all, focus on one thing: your product goals. This will allow you to demonstrate you are doing what you are asked for and you can use user feedback and points 1-4 to pursue those goals. Thus, it's like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. However, you can also simply: 6) Have the confidence to say "No" Not all company/legal/management requests can be ignored. Sometimes changing the law or a wider company initiative will require you to comply and that is OK! However, there will also be times when someone will try to force your compliance. This is where you need to be confident, and exercise your Product Manager's independence, especially when there is no data to support a specific request. There you go! My 6 ways you can become a user-centric Product Manager. Do you put your users first in your product? Sound off in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager #usercentricity

"Why does our top performer get the worst reviews?" the VP asked me. I was reviewing their annual performance data. "Show me," I said. She pulled up the ratings. Diana: 2.8 out of 5. Below average on "collaboration." Low marks for "team player." "What's her actual performance?" I asked. "Exceeded every target. Landed our biggest client. Trained three new hires." "So why the low scores?" "Her peer reviews are dragging her down." I scanned the comments. "Too direct." "Challenges ideas too much." "Not supportive enough." "Let me talk to Diana," I said. "I used to give honest feedback," Diana told me. "Said our pricing model was broken. Got dinged for 'negativity.'" "What happened with the pricing?" "They finally fixed it six months later. After we lost two major accounts." "What else?" "I questioned why we needed  eleven approvals for a simple contract change. Manager said I wasn't being collaborative." "Are you still giving feedback?" "No. I learned my lesson. Now I smile. Nod. Say everything's great. My reviews are improving." "But nothing's actually improving?" "We're making the same mistakes. Just with better vibes." She chuckled. I went back to the VP. "Your review system doesn't measure performance," I said. "It measures compliance." "That's not true." "When was the last time someone got promoted for challenging bad ideas?" Silence. "When did someone get rewarded for preventing a mistake?" More silence. "You've trained your best people to stay quiet. And your mediocre people to stay nice." A few months later, they redesigned the system. Added a category: "Constructive Challenge." Points for identifying problems early. Rewards for preventing costly mistakes. Diana got promoted. "What changed?" I asked the VP. "We stopped confusing agreement with alignment. Stopped mistaking silence for harmony." "And?" "Turns out our 'difficult' people were our most valuable. They actually cared enough to speak up." Here's the truth about performance reviews: Most companies don't reward performance. They reward performance theater. The person who says the meeting was great beats the person who says it wasted an hour. The person who agrees with bad ideas beats the person who prevents disasters. You think you're measuring contribution. You're measuring conformity. And your best people? They've already figured out the game. They're just deciding whether to play it or find somewhere that values truth over comfort. _____ Like my content? Give me a follow. Want to see more of it? Click the 🔔 on my profile.

Over the last year, I’ve seen many people fall into the same trap: They launch an AI-powered agent (chatbot, assistant, support tool, etc.)… But only track surface-level KPIs — like response time or number of users. That’s not enough. To create AI systems that actually deliver value, we need 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 that reflect: • User trust • Task success • Business impact • Experience quality    This infographic highlights 15 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 dimensions to consider: ↳ 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 — Are your AI answers actually useful and correct? ↳ 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 — Can the agent complete full workflows, not just answer trivia? ↳ 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 — Response speed still matters, especially in production. ↳ 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 — How often are users returning or interacting meaningfully? ↳ 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 — Did the user achieve their goal? This is your north star. ↳ 𝗘𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 — Irrelevant or wrong responses? That’s friction. ↳ 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Longer isn’t always better — it depends on the goal. ↳ 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Are users coming back 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 the first experience? ↳ 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Especially critical at scale. Budget-wise agents win. ↳ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 — Can the agent handle follow-ups and multi-turn dialogue? ↳ 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 — Feedback from actual users is gold. ↳ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 — Can your AI 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 to earlier inputs? ↳ 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 — Can it handle volume 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 degrading performance? ↳ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 — This is key for RAG-based agents. ↳ 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 — Is your AI learning and improving over time? If you're building or managing AI agents — bookmark this. Whether it's a support bot, GenAI assistant, or a multi-agent system — these are the metrics that will shape real-world success. 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀? Let’s make this list even stronger — drop your thoughts 👇

If you’re still building your CS dashboard around CSAT and NPS (and half a dozen other typical metrics), you're not leading — you’re looking in the rearview mirror. 💥 Real talk: As we've been discussing for almost 2 years, Customer Success is no longer the renewals safety net. It’s a revenue-generating, margin-conscious, outcome-driving machine. But most teams are still measuring it like it’s 2022. That’s a leadership gap — and it starts with us. 📊 What should we be measuring instead? 🔹 Adoption Depth: How broadly — and how strategically — are customers engaging across their org? 🔹 Expansion Efficiency: What’s the ratio of post-sales revenue to incremental investment? 🔹 Time-to-First-Value Velocity: Speed to impact isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a competitive advantage. CSAT and NPS still matter — but they’re lagging indicators. They can’t be the headline. 💬 To my fellow CCOs and CS leaders: What’s one metric you’ve added in the last 12–18 months that’s changed how your org operates? I’ll share mine in the comments 👇 Would love to hear yours.

Frustration with tolerated underperformance rarely shows up as complaint. More often, it becomes withdrawal. People stop challenging what feels unfair. They stop extending discretionary effort to compensate for gaps. Over time, they begin to plan their exit quietly. There is another layer that often goes unspoken. Colleagues sometimes protect underperformance as a way of feeling safer themselves. When someone else is visibly struggling, attention feels less likely to turn toward them. This is not malice. It is a human response to uncertainty and uneven accountability. None of this reflects immaturity. It is a rational response to a system where effort and consequence no longer align. When that alignment breaks, trust erodes from the inside. What remains is an unspoken sense that standards are optional and justice is uneven.

A service can hit every performance target and still fail the people using it. I’ve seen teams celebrate faster processing times while citizens were still stuck calling support because nothing actually became easier for them. Once a metric gets attached to reporting, behaviour starts bending around it. You start seeing things like - Shorter calls instead of solved problems - Higher completion rates from forms nobody understands - Closed tickets that reopen three days later - Dashboards that look healthier than the actual service feels Public sector teams are under constant pressure to prove progress, so naturally the measurable stuff gets attention first. The risk is that activity becomes a substitute for outcomes. This carousel breaks down how programmes drift into measuring movement instead of meaning. It further delves into why some of the strongest looking numbers can quietly hide weak delivery underneath. #GovTech #PublicSector #DigitalTransformation #ServiceDesign 

𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗽; 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼. During reviews, we noticed how our relationships with doctors were losing depth and just becoming one-dimensional, which wasn’t at all the clinical partnership I had in mind. 𝗦𝗼 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗜 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱. I walked routes with the sales team and spent the day with them. What I found changed the trajectory of our business. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀—squeezed into waiting rooms, given 120 seconds of a doctor’s time, and shown the door. We knew we weren’t there to just “sell tests”; 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲 “𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁” 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲 “𝘄𝗵𝘆.” Stepping away from the screen forced a 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗣𝗜𝘀: A dashboard can show you a "lag," but it doesn't show you the friction. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆. You only understand the "Why" when you stand where they stand. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁: Real feedback doesn’t happen in formal meetings; it happens over a cup of tea or a quick lunch between appointments. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲. That’s when the real blockers finally surface. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲-𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿: When you watch a teammate wait 3 hours for a 2-minute meeting, your perspective on “performance” shifts. You stop asking difficult questions and start looking for ways to make their path easier. 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿; 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆. This shift in perspective changed our approach. We started partnering with our clients by creating first impressions that left lasting impacts. That strategy change translated into better business outcomes. If your data isn’t matching your reality, it’s time to step away from the screen. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽?

TFW you watch the trio become a confident metrics rockstar - here's how they defined success 😍 -- The biggest shift when moving from project to product is 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. → It's no longer just about delivering; it's about making a real difference in your customer's and user's lives. How do you know that you've achieved it? By measuring the impact of the delivered product or feature. But where do you start? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹: Most teams start with big outcomes that can only be measured after the success point: → Lagging indicators. I help them find the early signs they’re on the right track: → Leading indicators. The trio in this story is the pilot trio of a niche SMB in Germany that is moving from a project to product org. ↳ They are the pioneers in their company. ↳ They do many things for the first time. ↳ There are the first to work towards outcomes and measure success through leading indicators. Here's how the trio found success metrics for their entirely new product 👇 -- 🎯 The main goal that the trio was working towards was: “𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗫 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝟭.” (anonymized) The "doing X" part involves 2 Actors. At first, it seemed simple. But as soon as it came to actual MEASUREMENTS, it became tricky. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 1️⃣ Define “reduce effort” quantitatively. Effort = what? • Task difficulty? • Task reduction? • Time spent per task? The trio chose: “Increase number of [specific task completed] per person in the same amount of time.” But that’s still a lagging indicator. So I asked: How do we measure effort in smaller steps? → Leading indicators for Actor 1 we found: • Reduce process time. • Reduce waiting time. • Reduce tool switches. 2️⃣ Map the whole journey for Actor 1 and 2 We sketched a flow chart, noting • tools • loops • waiting times • and pain points. 3️⃣ Identify what’s actionable. They noticed they can't improve everything. But they can help Actor 1 with: • Fewer tool switches. • Faster parts of the process. • Quicker info retrieval on specific aspects. 4️⃣ Define the improvement in metrics. They turned lagging indicators into leading indicators: see image. And then.... 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗧!!! They locked themselves away, built a user story map, and 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: → Address Actor 2’s challenges by enabling self-management for Actor 2 which unlocks efficiency for Actor 1. And for the new solution, they found their leading indicators without my help 😍💚👏 I love working with this trio 🙏 💚 Helping teams find clarity, build confidence, and become product pros 💚 These are the transformations that I wake up for every day.

Struggling to make more with less, reduce costs, or streamline your operations? Many companies confidently say, "We've got all the information we need," but when I dig into their numbers, I find a different story. They're often running on data dumps and lagging indicators—essentially driving their business while staring in the rear-view mirror 🚗 and then wondering why nothing changes. The problem? Data without context isn't insight. Lagging indicators tell you where you've been, but they won't help you steer where you're going. To truly lead, you need forward-looking insights and leading indicators that empower proactive decisions, not just reactive ones. As Peter Drucker said, "What gets measured gets managed," but if you're only measuring the past, you're managing blind. Tip: Start by identifying key metrics that signal future performance—these are your leading indicators. Focus on trends that predict growth and will allow you to adjust your activities every month to suit the prevailing winds, like customer engagement, conversion rates, basket sizes or employee productivity, and build systems to track them regularly. By shifting your focus from what happened to what's about to happen, you can navigate your business towards greater success. 📈✨ ❤️ this post and follow Angela Sedran for more strategies and tools to scale your business for sale by working smarter, not harder #kpis #scalingup #growingbusinesses #operatingefficiencies