In product design, success is often measured by how users feel about a product or feature. But feelings alone don’t tell the whole story. To grow as designers, we need to balance intuition and creativity with measurable outcomes that reflect how our work performs in the real world.
That’s why we created and delivered a training session called “An Introduction to Metrics”. A foundational workshop aimed at helping product designers understand, use, and appreciate metrics as part of their practice.
Why was this training needed?
In many design teams, discussions about metrics tend to fall under the responsibility of product managers or data analysts. Designers are sometimes left out of these conversations, even though the quality of design decisions directly influences measurable outcomes.
We wanted to shift that dynamic. By introducing metrics early in our designers’ growth journey, we aimed to:
- Demystify metrics so they don’t feel intimidating or “too technical.”
- Empower designers to measure the success of their work.
- Encourage collaboration with product and data teams using a shared vocabulary.
- Build a habit of thinking about success and performance as part of the design process.
Session overview
The training lasted just over an hour and combined short explanations with practical, experience-driven examples.
The content was divided into three parts:
1. Types of Metrics
We started by introducing the main categories of metrics, breaking them down into simple, designer-friendly terms:
- Business Metrics – Indicators like revenue, conversion rates, or churn. While not directly controlled by design, these are important for understanding the bigger picture.
- Product Metrics – Engagement, adoption, task completion rates, and retention—outcomes directly tied to user interactions with a product or feature.
- Experience Metrics – Metrics focused on usability, satisfaction, and perception, such as SUS (System Usability Scale), NPS, or task success rates in usability testing.
2. User Experience Scenarios
We then walked through real-world examples where metrics illuminate success:
- Redesigning a checkout flow – Instead of only celebrating a cleaner design, we looked at task completion rates and cart abandonment as success indicators.
- Launching a new onboarding flow – Adoption metrics showed whether users actually finished onboarding. Experience metrics like perceived ease-of-use gave us insight into how it felt.
- Improving a search feature – Beyond aesthetic improvements, we measured search success rate, time to result, and frequency of repeated searches.
These examples helped bridge the gap between abstract numbers and everyday design decisions.
3. Applying Metrics in Design Practice
We closed the session by reframing metrics as part of the design toolkit:
- During ideation, designers can anticipate what success should look like.
- During testing, metrics help validate design decisions.
- After launch, metrics guide iteration and refinement.
The message was clear: metrics aren’t just for analysts—they’re for designers, too.
Why was this training needed?
By the end of the training, designers left with:
- A baseline understanding of different types of metrics.
- Awareness of which metrics are most relevant for their design work.
- A mindset shift from “designing for aesthetics” to “designing for measurable impact.”
Perhaps the most encouraging outcome was the follow-up.
Designers began asking proactive questions like:
“What should we measure to define success for this feature?”
“How will we know if users find this easier than before?”
This showed the beginnings of a cultural shift: design success was no longer assumed. It was measurable.
Key takeaways
- Metrics are not the enemy of creativity – they amplify it by showing how design performs in reality.
- Designers benefit from owning success measures – not just leaving it to PMs or data teams.
- Training is just the start – ongoing practice and integration into projects will make metrics second nature.
By making metrics approachable and tying them to real user experience examples, “An Introduction to Metrics” helped designers build confidence in measuring success.
This foundation now supports deeper conversations about performance, impact, and the true value of design in product development.
