As part of our ongoing research we are asking survey respondents to tell us about the various types of metrics that product managers in their organization are being held accountable to. Our preliminary findings indicate that product managers are being held to a different set of weighted performance metrics in each vertical. In other words, each vertical emphasizes a different performance metric prioritization. These industries or verticals are; technology (hardware and software), consumer products, services, government and education.
List of Possible Responses
When asked about which performance metrics product managers are being held accountable to respondents have a variety of possible options to choose from. Here’s the full list…
- Topline revenue
- Profitability
- Customer satisfaction
- Market share
- Velocity or throughput metrics
- Our product managers are not held accountable to metrics (but support attainment of company goals)
- We don’t have product managers
A Single Metric Is Prioritized Consistently Across All Verticals
While we’re still in the final stages of collecting survey responses it appears that there’s one dominant metric that crosses all the verticals. The majority of survey respondents, regardless of vertical, indicate that customer satisfaction is the most dominant metric currently being used to measure product manager performance.
The data is really interesting as it becomes increasingly variable once you dig deeper into the data. Each vertical breaks down into a different set of weightings. There doesn’t appear to be a consistent pattern from one vertical to the next. When our survey closes at the end of this month we’ll be able to complete the analysis. Once complete we’ll share our findings on the weightings for each vertical.
In the meantime, we would love to hear from you. What performance metrics are product managers in your organization being held accountable to? Are your product managers being held accountable to customer satisfaction?
You can let us know by clicking this link.