Metric Tree (North Star)
Framework: North Star → driver → operational metric decomposition
Use for: Connecting one top-level metric to the operational metrics teams can actually move
Time required: 1–2 hours with the team
How to use this template
- Pick ONE North Star — the single metric that best captures the value you deliver to customers. Revenue alone is usually not it; it's the outcome, not the value.
- Break it into 3–5 driver metrics that mathematically or causally roll up to it. If a driver moves, the North Star should move.
- Break each driver into operational metrics a specific team owns and can change this quarter.
- Tag each metric leading or lagging. Lagging tells you what already happened; leading tells you what's about to.
- Stop at the level a team can act on. A tree nobody owns at the leaves is a diagram, not a system.
Header
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Team / scope | [Name] |
| Owner | [Name] |
| Date | [Date] |
| Review cadence | [Weekly / Monthly] |
North Star
One metric. State it, and why it represents real customer value.
| North Star metric | Why it captures value |
|---|---|
| [e.g., weekly active teams] | [The value proxy] |
Driver metrics (level 2)
Three to five metrics that roll up to the North Star. Each should have a clear relationship to it.
| Driver metric | Relationship to North Star | Leading / Lagging | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Driver 1] | [How it rolls up] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
| [Driver 2] | [How it rolls up] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
| [Driver 3] | [How it rolls up] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
Operational metrics (level 3)
The metrics each team moves week to week. These are where work actually changes the number.
| Under driver | Operational metric | Leading / Lagging | Owning team |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Driver 1] | [Metric] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
| [Driver 1] | [Metric] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
| [Driver 2] | [Metric] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
| [Driver 3] | [Metric] | [Leading / Lagging] | [Team] |
Sanity checks
- If every operational metric improved, the North Star would clearly rise
- No driver is a vanity metric (up-and-to-the-right but disconnected from value)
- Every leaf metric has a single owning team
- There is at least one leading metric per driver, not only lagging ones
A good metric tree turns one company-level number into work a team can do on Monday. More on metrics and decision infrastructure at biztechprimer.com.