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TARS: A product metric game changer
Balance your business goals and user needs by working out if your features are any good
As a product manager, I’ve always had an unhealthy obsession with metrics. They are like a siren call, drawing me in with promises of success and customer satisfaction.
I’ve spent countless hours poring over spreadsheets and statistics, searching for the elusive formula to unlock the secrets of product success and customer satisfaction. But in reality, I was often lost, chasing after ever more convoluted metrics and segmentations.
But then, last year, salvation came in the form of TARS — Target Users, Active Users, Retention, and Satisfaction — a framework developed by the wise sages at Reforge. It helped me break free from the shackles of misleading metrics like NPS or revenue and instead focus on the true heart of product success.
TARS is more than just a collection of metrics; it’s a framework that allows us to evaluate features and answer the crucial question, “What does a good outcome for my feature look like?”.
For those willing to embrace it, TARS can be a game-changer, allowing us to navigate the complex landscape of product management with greater clarity and purpose. It’s a powerful tool that I’ve come to rely on as I strive to foster team collaboration and develop products that truly delight users, and, now, I hope, yours as well.
Mastering the TARS Framework: A Four-Step Guide
As a product manager, TARS allows you to delve deep into the four critical areas of Target Audience, Adopted, Retention, and Satisfaction, giving you a comprehensive view of which features are performing well and which are not.
TARS offers a holistic approach to product management in a world of constant innovation and disruption, providing a framework for understanding and evaluating feature performance beyond revenue and NPS’s superficial metrics.
The problem with business-level metrics like NPS is that they don’t provide an accurate…
