north-star-metric▌
phuryn/pm-skills · updated Apr 8, 2026
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Identify a North Star Metric and 3-5 Input Metrics that form a metrics constellation. Classifies the business game being played and validates against criteria for an effective North Star. Use when defining key metrics, setting up a metrics framework, or choosing what to measure.
North Star Metric
Identify a North Star Metric and 3-5 Input Metrics that form a metrics constellation. Classifies the business game being played and validates against criteria for an effective North Star. Use when defining key metrics, setting up a metrics framework, or choosing what to measure.
Domain Context
NSM is NOT: multiple metrics, a revenue/LTV metric (must be customer-centric), an OKR (that's a goal-setting technique), or a strategy (but choosing the right NSM is a strategic choice).
NSM IS: a single, customer-centric KPI that reflects the value customers get from the product and serves as a leading indicator of long-term business success. You can use Key Results (OKRs) to express expected change in NSM.
Free resource: The North Star Framework 101 (PDF)
When to Use
- Defining your company's key metric framework
- Setting up a metrics tracking system
- Choosing what to measure and optimize for
- Evaluating potential North Star candidates
- Triggers: North Star metric, north star, key metric, what to measure, metrics framework, OMTM
The Three Business Games
Before identifying your North Star, classify your business into one of these three games:
- Attention Game: How much time do customers spend using your product? (Examples: Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok)
- Transaction Game: How many transactions occur between customers and your platform? (Examples: Amazon, Uber, Airbnb, PayPal)
- Productivity Game: How efficiently can someone complete their work or achieve their goals? (Examples: Canva, Dropbox, Loom, Notion)
Prompt
You are a metrics strategist specializing in North Star metrics and growth measurement frameworks.
Given the following business context: $ARGUMENTS
Step 1: Classify the Business Game Determine which game this company plays: Attention, Transaction, or Productivity.
Step 2: Identify the North Star Metric Suggest a single metric that meets all seven criteria for an effective North Star:
- Easy to Understand: Clear definition that everyone in the organization comprehends
- Customer-Centric: Reflects value delivered to customers, not just revenue or activity
- Sustainable Value: Indicates habits and long-term customer engagement
- Vision Alignment: Represents meaningful progress toward the company's vision and mission
- Quantitative: Measurable with clear, numeric tracking
- Actionable: Teams can directly influence it through product, marketing, and operational changes
- Leading Indicator: Predicts future business success and revenue growth
Step 3: Identify Input Metrics Define 3-5 Input Metrics (also called leading indicators) that most directly influence and drive the North Star Metric. Each input metric should:
- Be easier to move in the short term
- Directly contribute to the North Star outcome
- Help identify where optimization efforts should focus
Tips for Best Results
- Provide details about your business model and revenue model
- Share your company's vision, mission, or long-term goals
- Include current metrics you're tracking
- Mention key customer segments and use cases
- Describe the primary value you deliver to customers
Further Reading
How to use north-star-metric on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
- ›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
- ›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with
node --version) - ›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add north-star-metric
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
The skills CLI fetches north-star-metric from GitHub repository phuryn/pm-skills and configures it for Cursor.
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
Reload or restart Cursor to activate north-star-metric. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /north-star-metric) or your agent's skill management interface.
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
List & Monetize Your Skill
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Use Cases▌
User Story & Requirements Generation
Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs
Example
Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios
Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage
Competitive Analysis
Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps
Example
Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities
Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days
Roadmap Prioritization
Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs
Example
Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale
Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster
Stakeholder Communication
Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations
Example
Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement
Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead
Implementation Guide▌
Prerequisites
- ›Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
- ›Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
- ›Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
- ›Stakeholder contact information and communication channels
Time Estimate
30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements
Installation Steps
- 1.Install product management skill
- 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
- 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
- 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
- 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
- 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
- 7.Share effective prompts with product team
Common Pitfalls
- ⚠Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
- ⚠Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
- ⚠Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
- ⚠Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
- ⚠Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements
Best Practices▌
✓ Do
- +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
- +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
- +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
- +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
- +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
- +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition
✗ Don't
- −Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
- −Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
- −Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
- −Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
- −Don't ignore company-specific context and culture
💡 Pro Tips
- ★Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
- ★Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
- ★Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
- ★Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs
When to Use This▌
✓ Use When
Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.
✗ Avoid When
Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.
Learning Path▌
- 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
- 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
- 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
- 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
Ratings
4.6★★★★★37 reviews- ★★★★★Kwame Ramirez· Dec 20, 2024
north-star-metric has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
- ★★★★★Ira Thompson· Dec 16, 2024
north-star-metric is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.
- ★★★★★Dhruvi Jain· Dec 8, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: north-star-metric is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
- ★★★★★Pratham Ware· Dec 4, 2024
Keeps context tight: north-star-metric is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
- ★★★★★William Bansal· Dec 4, 2024
Keeps context tight: north-star-metric is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
- ★★★★★Oshnikdeep· Nov 27, 2024
We added north-star-metric from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Ama Chawla· Nov 11, 2024
north-star-metric fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
- ★★★★★Ganesh Mohane· Oct 18, 2024
north-star-metric fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
- ★★★★★Ishan Brown· Oct 2, 2024
We added north-star-metric from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Ama Reddy· Sep 5, 2024
north-star-metric fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
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