north-star-metric

Overview of north-star-metric skill

The north-star-metric skill helps you define a customer-centric North Star Metric and the 3-5 input metrics that support it. It is best for Product Management teams that need a practical metrics framework, not just a list of KPIs. If you are choosing what to measure, validating a candidate metric, or trying to turn “we need better metrics” into a usable model, this skill gives you a structured starting point.

What this skill is for

The north-star-metric skill focuses on one clear job: identify the metric that best reflects customer value and long-term business health. It also helps you classify the business game you are playing — Attention, Transaction, or Productivity — so the metric choice matches the product model instead of drifting into vanity or revenue-only tracking.

What makes it useful

This skill is useful because it forces three things that generic prompts often skip: a single North Star, supporting input metrics, and a validity check against the criteria of a good North Star. That makes it more decision-oriented than a brainstorming prompt and more practical than an abstract framework article.

When it is a good fit

Use north-star-metric when you are:

• defining a new metrics framework
• reviewing whether a proposed North Star is actually customer-centric
• aligning product, growth, and leadership on one metric
• deciding what to measure before building dashboards or OKRs

When it is not a good fit

It is a weaker fit if you want a full analytics architecture, a company-wide OKR system, or a revenue planning model. The north-star-metric skill is about metric selection and validation, not replacing broader strategy or reporting work.

How to Use north-star-metric skill

north-star-metric install

Install the skill with npx skills add phuryn/pm-skills --skill north-star-metric. After install, confirm the skill folder is present in pm-marketing-growth/skills/north-star-metric and open the primary instruction file first.

What input the skill needs

To get a strong north-star-metric usage result, provide:

• product type and business model
• target user and the value they seek
• stage of the product or company
• any metric you are already considering
• constraints such as data availability, instrumentation gaps, or team priorities

A weak request like “pick a North Star Metric for my app” leaves too much guessing. A stronger prompt gives context, for example: “We are a B2B collaboration tool used daily by teams of 5-50. We want one customer-centric North Star Metric and 4 input metrics, and we need it to work for a Productivity business.”

A practical workflow

Start by naming the business game, then test candidate metrics against the skill’s criteria. If a candidate metric is too revenue-heavy, too broad, or not clearly customer-centric, revise it before treating it as a North Star. Then derive 3-5 input metrics that explain the driver behavior behind the main metric.

Files to read first

Read SKILL.md first. If you are using this skill inside a larger PM workflow, also inspect the surrounding repository structure to see whether there are companion docs, templates, or adjacent skills that affect your prompt shape. This repository appears lightweight, so the main value is in the skill instructions themselves.

north-star-metric skill FAQ

Is this skill only for Product Management?

It is strongest for Product Management, but it also helps founders, growth leads, and analytics-minded operators who need a clear metric framework. The north-star-metric skill for Product Management is especially useful when teams need alignment around customer value instead of a random dashboard metric.

How is this different from a normal prompt?

A normal prompt may produce a plausible metric. This skill pushes the model to classify the business game, choose a single North Star, and attach input metrics that explain movement. That structure usually reduces vague or inconsistent outputs.

What should I avoid?

Do not use a revenue target, LTV, or a pile of unrelated KPIs as the North Star. The skill is built around a customer-centric leading indicator, so the output is weaker if you ask it to optimize for short-term business reporting instead of product value.

Is it beginner-friendly?

Yes, if you can describe your product and user. You do not need advanced analytics knowledge to use the north-star-metric guide well, but you do need enough context to distinguish your product’s value from its monetization model.

How to Improve north-star-metric skill

Give the model a sharper product story

The best results come from inputs that explain who uses the product, what success looks like for them, and how often value is delivered. Instead of “a fintech app,” say “a consumer budgeting app used weekly by first-time budgeters who need to stay within spending limits.”

Ask for a metric hierarchy, not just one metric

If you only request one North Star, you may get a slogan instead of a usable system. Ask for the main metric plus 3-5 input metrics and a short explanation of why each input should move when the North Star improves. That makes the north-star-metric output easier to operationalize.

Check for common failure modes

Watch for metrics that are:

• too close to revenue or internal output
• too broad to instrument
• not tied to customer value
• hard to influence with product decisions

If the first answer fails one of these tests, ask the model to revise the metric choice and explain the tradeoff.

Iterate from candidate to decision

Use the first output as a shortlist, then pressure-test each candidate against real product behavior, available data, and team ownership. The north-star-metric skill works best when you treat it as a decision aid: refine the prompt, compare options, and keep the metric that is simplest to measure and hardest to game.