Engagement is a useless success metric. Track this instead.
As a product manager in the software space, there’s a buzzword I hear a lot: “engagement.”
You’ve probably seen it everywhere, too. From social media companies pulling the strings of your dopamine fix to notifications that pull you into an app you’ve already checked six times today, engagement is a concept that many products use as a success metric. Personally, I loathe it. Not just because of its potential for harm, but also because it’s a pretty poor metric to measure your product’s success.
How Traditional Engagement Is Tracked
Let’s dive into what product teams really mean when they say they’re tracking engagement. Usually, this means counting the number of clicks, mouse hovers or minutes spent on-screen with a new feature. In human terms, this means measuring the amount of attention a user gives to the feature.
The assumption is that the more attention a user gives a feature, the better the feature is. The product manager can report to leadership that the feature is a success. Everyone can pat themselves on the back and go home happy.
This is where I disagree. Simply grabbing attention is cheap; anything bright, shiny and new can grab users’ attention. If engagement is truly how you are measuring success, then…
