The hottest Metrics Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Claude Plays Pokémon

Teaching computers how to talk • 62 implied HN points • 28 Feb 25
🕹 Technology AI Gaming Research Metrics Innovation
  1. AI playing games like Pokémon can show us how smart it really is. It might be better than other tests because games need quick thinking and problem solving.
  2. Recent projects like Claude playing Pokémon on Twitch highlight how slow and confused current AI can be. It took Claude a long time to beat just one part of the game.
  3. Today's AI tests often focus on math or coding, but playing games might give a clearer picture of intelligence. We should use games to see if AI can think and adapt like humans do.

Developer Productivity Metrics: Education Necessary

Software Design: Tidy First? • 2098 implied HN points • 29 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Software Development Productivity Metrics Engineering Communication
  1. Metrics can help improve productivity, but they can also be misunderstood or misused. It's important to communicate them clearly and use them to support developers instead of pressure them.
  2. Goodhart's Law reminds us that when a measure becomes a target, it can lose its value. This means we need to be careful about how we use metrics to avoid gaming the system.
  3. It's crucial to focus on improving the developer experience, not just making them happy. Measuring effectiveness can help identify and eliminate roadblocks that slow down productivity.

Rolling out developer productivity metrics

Engineering Enablement • 7 implied HN points • 19 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Developer Tools Productivity Change Management Leadership Metrics
  1. Communicate openly with leaders about new productivity metrics to avoid surprises. It's important to have conversations, not just send emails, to build trust.
  2. Be clear about what the metrics cover to reduce fear. Focus on process-related data, and explain how it helps teams improve.
  3. Invest time in change management, as it’s crucial for success. Engage key players early, ask for their input, and keep everyone informed through various channels.

Why Data Teams Need to Understand Metrics: A Look at Starbucks’ Comparable Store Sales

SeattleDataGuy’s Newsletter • 447 implied HN points • 08 Nov 24
💼 Business Metrics Data Analysis Corporate strategy Revenue management
  1. Data teams need to know the main numbers that matter for their business. This helps them understand how the company is performing.
  2. High-level metrics like revenue and expenses can seem too big to grasp. Breaking these down into smaller parts makes them easier to understand.
  3. These smaller, detailed metrics can reveal valuable insights that affect decisions and strategies for the business.
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The Pipeline Metrics That Matter

Bottom Up by David Sacks • 281 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
💼 Business Sales Marketing SaaS Metrics Forecasting
  1. Tracking pipeline generation is crucial for growth in SaaS companies. If new opportunities are increasing, it's a good sign to hire more sales staff; if not, boost marketing efforts.
  2. Understanding pipeline conversion metrics helps identify where improvements are needed. Knowing how long deals take to close and where they tend to get stuck can lead to better sales processes.
  3. Active pipeline metrics allow for accurate forecasting. Keeping an eye on open opportunities and their expected close dates helps businesses plan and strategize effectively.

Your guide to the 2024 SaaS benchmarks

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 504 implied HN points • 21 Nov 24
💼 Business SaaS Startups AI Growth Metrics
  1. 2024 sees stabilization in SaaS growth rates, with early stages performing better while larger companies struggle. Smaller startups are showing stronger growth despite an overall slowdown.
  2. Early stage SaaS and AI companies are thriving, significantly increasing growth rates and maintaining lean teams. They are using automation and smart hiring to succeed.
  3. There's a shift in pricing models for AI products, with many still using traditional subscription models but a growing number exploring usage-based and outcome-based pricing. It's a sign of changing market demands.

Metrics Are The Map, Not The Territory

Push to Prod • 59 implied HN points • 30 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Metrics Systems Data Analysis Software Performance
  1. Metrics give us a view of our systems, but they won't show the complete picture. It's like looking at a map; it can guide us but doesn't capture all the details.
  2. When we check the data, we might miss important moments because of how we sample information. This can lead to misunderstandings about our system's performance.
  3. Understanding that metrics are imperfect helps us make better decisions. We should use them to create theories, not think they tell us everything.

Cost of Acquisition (CAC) trap.

Elena's Growth Scoop • 1022 implied HN points • 12 May 23
💼 Business Marketing Metrics ROI Customer Acquisition Product Development
  1. Focus on optimizing payback period instead of just reducing CAC to improve ROI.
  2. Consider the profitability and long-term value of different acquisition channels before shutting them down based solely on CAC.
  3. The payback period is a superior metric for acquisition that focuses on reinvesting returns and optimizing various aspects like CAC, conversion rate, ARPU, and conversion time.

4 key metrics to track for solofounders

Tiny Empires • 85 implied HN points • 13 Nov 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Metrics Revenue Marketing Strategy Finance
  1. Track your monthly net profit to see if your business is healthy. If profits drop for too long, figure out why.
  2. Know your Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) to understand how stable your income is. This helps you plan for the future.
  3. Focus on a few key metrics for marketing and sales, like the cost per lead and conversion rates, to make better decisions. Don't get lost in too much data.

GraphRAG Analysis, Part 1: How Indexing Elevates Knowledge Graph Performance in RAG

AI Encoder: Parsing Signal from Hype • 70 HN points • 09 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Analysis Research Evaluation Modeling Metrics
  1. Knowledge graphs do not significantly impact context retrieval in RAG, as all methods showed similar context relevancy scores.
  2. Neo4j with its own index improved answer relevancy and faithfulness compared to Neo4j without indexing and FAISS, showcasing the importance of effective indexing for precise content retrieval in RAG applications.
  3. Developers need to consider the trade-offs between ROI constraints and performance improvements when deciding to use GraphRAG, especially in high-precision applications that require accurate answers.

Applying the Core 4 (Part 1)

Engineering Enablement • 12 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Developer Tools Productivity Software Engineering Metrics Frameworks
  1. Use a survey to gather Core 4 metrics easily. It's designed for simplicity, so anyone can set it up.
  2. Calculate your metrics by averaging survey responses for Speed, Quality, and Impact. For Effectiveness, look at the positive responses overall.
  3. Once you have your results, compare them with industry benchmarks to see how you're doing. This helps you understand your team's performance better.

Getting exec buy-in for developer productivity initiatives

Engineering Enablement • 14 implied HN points • 12 Jan 25
💼 Business Leadership Productivity Investment Metrics Competition
  1. Focus on the specific needs of leaders. Show how your ideas can solve their biggest issues to get their support.
  2. Talk about money. Explain how improving developer productivity can directly impact profits and save costs.
  3. Create a sense of competition. Use benchmarks to show how the organization compares to others, making leaders want to improve.

Unintended Consequences

Fish Food for Thought • 21 implied HN points • 31 Dec 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Metrics Incentives Strategy
  1. Making changes based on certain metrics can lead to unexpected problems. For example, Wells Fargo's sales goals pushed employees to open fake accounts.
  2. Good intentions behind laws and incentives can sometimes backfire. The Cobra Effect shows how trying to control a cobra population led to more snakes instead.
  3. It's important to regularly rethink our goals and how we measure success. Metrics can guide us, but we must also consider their potential downsides and the bigger picture.

All you need is Wide Events, not “Metrics, Logs and Traces”

A Song Of Bugs And Patches • 224 HN points • 15 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Observability Systems Events Metrics
  1. The concept of 'Wide Events' is proposed as a simpler and more effective approach to observability than the traditional 'Metrics, Logs, and Traces'.
  2. Older systems like Open Telemetry may contribute to confusion by categorizing data into distinct pillars, making observability seem complex.
  3. A system like Scuba, based on 'Wide Events', enables streamlined investigation and data exploration, emphasizing the importance of simplicity in observability tools.

The NIH and Data . . .

The Good Science Project • 22 implied HN points • 25 Dec 24
🔬 Science Research Data Innovation Metrics Evaluation
  1. The NIH is starting a program to give scholars access to its internal data. This will help them answer important questions about the economic impact and effectiveness of research policies.
  2. They are creating a new metric called the S-index to reward scientists for sharing data with the wider community. This aims to encourage more collaboration rather than just focusing on personal achievements.
  3. The NIH is offering a $1 million prize for innovative ideas on how to implement the S-index metric, encouraging creativity and participation from the scientific community.

Improving Retention with Audience Surveys

Growth Croissant • 452 implied HN points • 12 May 23
💼 Business Retention Surveys Feedback Audience Metrics
  1. Improving retention by solving the customer's problem in a deeper way can have a noticeable impact on retention.
  2. Focus on your core audience for a 10x improvement in solving their problem, even if it means neglecting parts of your audience for better problem-solving.
  3. Running surveys, especially cancel surveys, can provide valuable feedback to enhance your product, understand audience needs, and improve retention.

The Hero Culture Trap | Sowmya Subramanian

Dev Interrupted • 9 implied HN points • 07 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Engineering Culture Metrics Business Leadership
  1. Building a good team means moving from putting out fires to being proactive. Focus on planning ahead so your team doesn’t always have to deal with emergencies.
  2. Rushing to ship new features isn't always best. Sometimes, following others and quickly adapting ideas can work better in the long run.
  3. When writing code, clear instructions lead to better results. If you’re vague, your code might end up messy and confused.

Is EBITDA Really Bullshit? Answer: "It Depends"

Value Investing Substack • 353 implied HN points • 05 Aug 23
💰 Finance Investing Accounting Economics Companies Metrics
  1. EBITDA can be a controversial metric in finance, with some calling it 'bullshit earnings'.
  2. John Malone successfully used EBITDA to communicate TCI's growth strategy in cable industry.
  3. Valeant Pharmaceuticals' misuse of EBITDA led to financial trouble, highlighting the importance of understanding the context behind EBITDA figures.

Why We Founded SaaSGrid

Bottom Up by David Sacks • 541 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
🕹 Technology SaaS Metrics Data
  1. SaaS companies need a dedicated dashboarding platform for their metrics.
  2. Problems faced by SaaS companies include lack of proper metrics, errors in data, and lack of real-time availability.
  3. SaaSGrid provides a solution by automating the calculation of key SaaS metrics and offering real-time dashboards.

Seduced By The Machine

The Ruffian • 368 implied HN points • 16 Dec 23
📖 Philosophy Values Metrics Autonomy Technology Happiness
  1. Humans are becoming more like machines by allowing apps and corporations to define their values and goals.
  2. Metrics and rankings from technology and organizations can shape our values, making us prioritize quantifiable standards over personal fulfillment.
  3. Value capture by external agents can lead to a loss of individuality and hinder personal growth, as people conform to standardized metrics and neglect their unique aspirations.

Lifetime Value for Crypto Businesses

DeFi Weekly • 255 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
🔮 Crypto Business Metrics Frameworks Cryptocurrency
  1. Understanding the concept of Lifetime Value (LTV) is crucial for crypto businesses as it determines how much a customer is worth in terms of fees earned over their lifetime.
  2. For different categories like chains, DEXs, lending, stablecoins, and yield aggregators, there are specific frameworks to optimize customer lifetime value based on factors like transaction size, fees applied, profit earned, and performance fees.
  3. Each crypto primitive operates similar to traditional businesses but with unique mechanics due to the nature of the crypto environment, such as the impact of costs on profits and the challenge of optimizing incentive elasticity.

Introducing the DX Core 4

Engineering Enablement • 14 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Developer Tools Productivity Software Development Frameworks Metrics
  1. The DX Core 4 is a new framework that combines existing models like DORA, SPACE, and DevEx to measure developer productivity more effectively. It aims to give clear guidance on what companies should measure.
  2. This framework focuses on four main areas: speed, effectiveness, quality, and impact, each with specific metrics to help organizations understand and improve their developer processes.
  3. The DX Core 4 is intended to be transparent and helpful for developers, promoting conversations around their challenges rather than using metrics against them.

Design and Measure the REAL Customer Experience to Win

The Digital Leader Newsletter -- By John Rossman • 216 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
💼 Business Customer Experience Innovation Metrics Company performance
  1. Focus on designing and measuring the real customer experience to win.
  2. Provide customers with an 'easy button' by ensuring a frictionless experience across all touchpoints.
  3. Integrate customer experience metrics alongside financial and operational metrics to drive operational excellence and customer obsession.

Beware value capture

SatPost by Trung Phan • 201 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Metrics Social media AI Streaming
  1. Tech apps influence our behavior through metrics, so don't blindly follow them
  2. Metrics like rankings, step counts, and likes can lead to 'value capture' influencing our decisions and behavior
  3. Be aware of how external metrics set by institutions in apps can guide our values and behaviors without us realizing

Turning NPS into action: how to make the most out of a... dubious metric*

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 14 Dec 22
💼 Business Metrics User Experience Research Analysis Strategy
  1. NPS (Net Promoter Score) measures customer loyalty based on likelihood of recommendation. Responses are categorized into Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.
  2. To make the most of NPS, ensure it is measured properly by defining target audience, using standardized surveys, analyzing data regularly, and avoiding biases.
  3. Despite NPS limitations, leverage its open-ended question for uncovering user pain points, recruiting research participants, involving all team members, complementing with other metrics, and using it strategically.

Quality Engineering Basics: Quality Metrics

QUALITY BOSS • 39 implied HN points • 25 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Metrics Quality Automation
  1. Metrics help show how good a product is and can lead to improvements. They can boost quality and user happiness.
  2. Bug metrics track issues like how many bugs are found after release and how long they take to fix. This helps teams focus on areas needing help.
  3. Product and automation metrics can include customer satisfaction and how well automated tests work. They help understand what's going right or wrong in the product.