Design Pilot on YouTube · Open on YouTube
Professional practice · Competent · Lesson 38 of 99 · 43 min video, then about 2 hours of practice
Product thinking and metrics
After this you can connect a design decision to a business outcome and name the metric it should move.
Why it matters
This is the most common gap between a junior and a mid-level designer, and the most common reason a portfolio reads as student work. Learn the vocabulary (activation, retention, conversion, funnel, north star) and the habit of asking 'how will we know this worked?' before designing. Also learn the honest limits: not everything worth doing is measurable, and optimising a metric without judgement is how dark patterns get shipped. Trap: inventing impressive-sounding percentages for a portfolio project. Reviewers ask how you measured, and a fabricated number collapses immediately. A stated hypothesis and a measurement plan are more credible than a fake result.
How to use this resource
Written for designers rather than PMs, which is the version you need. Forty minutes that will change how you write case studies.