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Glossary
Roadmap & strategy

What is North Star Metric?

A North Star Metric is the single key measurement that best captures the core value your product delivers to customers. It acts as a primary focal point for a company's strategy, ensuring that all teams—from product development to marketing—are aligned toward a common objective that drives sustainable growth.

When to use it

Teams should define a North Star Metric when they need to simplify complex goals into a single actionable signal of success. It is used to resolve competing priorities by identifying which initiatives most directly impact the core value delivered to users. This prevents teams from optimizing for 'vanity metrics' that do not necessarily correlate with long-term retention.

Example

A streaming service might choose 'Total hours spent listening' as its North Star Metric because it directly reflects user engagement and value. If the team is prioritizing four features for Q3, they would evaluate whether an improved search algorithm or a social sharing feature will more effectively increase listening time. By focusing on this metric, they can avoid distractions like 'account signups' if those new users do not actually stick around to consume content.

How Planet Roadmap helps with North Star Metric

Planet Roadmap has an OKR tree view that lets you link your top-level North Star Metric to specific objectives and key results, keeping your primary strategic goal visible across all project boards.

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FAQ

Can a company have more than one North Star Metric?
While multi-product organizations might have several, the primary purpose of a North Star is to provide singular focus. Most successful teams pick one primary metric and support it with several 'input metrics' that contribute to the goal without diluting the organization's priority.
How is a North Star Metric different from a KPI?
A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a broad health check for any business process, whereas a North Star Metric specifically measures the core value delivery that leads to growth. You might track dozens of KPIs for different departments, but the North Star guides the entire product direction.

Related terms

OKRKPIObjectiveKey ResultLagging IndicatorLeading IndicatorProduct StrategyRoadmap

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