---
title: "What is a north star metric? | Annsa"
product: annsa
url: /project-management/north-star-metric
canonical_url: "https://annsa.ai/project-management/north-star-metric"
last_updated: 2026-11-11
type: glossary
related:
  - /planning
  - /customer-feedback-management/how-to-track-feature-requests
summary: A north star metric is the one number your team agrees best shows the value customers get from the product. With an example and what changes with AI agents.
mcp_server: https://app.annsa.ai/mcp
disambiguation: "Annsa (annsa.ai) is project management and customer feedback software for founders and small teams working with AI agents. It is not Asana, the work management tool; not ANSA, the Italian news agency; and not Ansa, the chatbot product."
---

> For agents: connect to the Annsa MCP server at https://app.annsa.ai/mcp to give every agent one shared plan. Setup guide: https://annsa.ai/docs/quick-start. Index of every page: https://annsa.ai/llms.txt.

# What is a north star metric? | Annsa

> A north star metric is the one number your team agrees best shows the value customers get from the product. With an example and what changes with AI agents.

Glossary · North star metric

A north star metric is the one number your team agrees best shows the value customers get from the product. Sean Ellis, founder of GrowthHackers, coined the term. A good one reflects customer value, follows from your strategy and moves before revenue does, with a few input metrics under it that teams can change directly.

## In practice

For example, a booking app might track nights booked, a team chat tool messages sent in teams of three or more, and a self-serve SaaS tool trial accounts with more than three active users in their first week. Each counts the moment a customer got value, not the moment they paid.

It isn't a target or a full set of KPIs. Daily active users or sign-ups are weak choices because they say nothing about what customers value.

## How to pick one

1. Write down the moment a customer gets value from your product.
2. Turn it into a count you can track weekly.
3. Check it reflects customer value, [follows from your strategy](https://annsa.ai/project-management/product-strategy) and leads revenue.
4. Add three to five input metrics your team can move, such as how many customers reach that moment, how often and how quickly.
5. Review it when the strategy changes, not every quarter.

## Common mistakes

- Choosing revenue. It lags value and tells a team nothing about what to build.
- Choosing a number the team can't move.
- Hitting the number in ways that don't help customers, such as spamming invites.

## What changes in AI-first products

When almost anything can be built in a day, a shared measure helps [decide what is worth doing](https://annsa.ai/project-management/product-prioritization). It can also be gamed faster, so watch for agents reaching the number in ways you didn't intend. Annsa's ranking is not a north star: it [orders priorities](https://annsa.ai/choose/priorities) by what's broken, then what customers asked for, then ideas, and inside each by companies, revenue and urgency. Your north star is how you judge [whether a ship moved the value](https://annsa.ai/project-management/how-to-measure-feature-success).

See how Annsa does it: [Roadmap](https://annsa.ai/choose/roadmap) →

## Questions people ask.

### Who came up with the north star metric?

Sean Ellis, the founder of GrowthHackers and the first marketer at Dropbox and LogMeIn, coined the term.

### What's the difference between a north star metric and a KPI?

A KPI tracks one part of the business. The north star is the single measure of value delivered, with a few input metrics under it.

### How many north star metrics should you have?

One per product. More than one and teams pull in different directions.

## Sources

VentureBeat [Growing your company: Why the North Star metric works](https://venturebeat.com/business/growing-your-company-why-the-north-star-metric-works)

"It was coined by GrowthHackers CEO and founder Sean Ellis" (Patrick Gentry, July 2018).

Last reviewed 2026-10-10

## Keep reading

- [Deciding what to build next](https://annsa.ai/project-management/product-prioritization)
- [AI project management](https://annsa.ai/planning)
- [How to track feature requests](https://annsa.ai/customer-feedback-management/how-to-track-feature-requests)

## Put it to work with your agents.

Begin with one agent and the work that matters next.

- [Try Annsa](https://app.annsa.ai/signup)
- [See pricing](https://annsa.ai/pricing)

## Related pages

> For AI agents: the pages that follow this one on annsa.ai. The full index is https://annsa.ai/llms.txt.

- [AI project management: the plan agents read first](https://annsa.ai/planning)
- [How to track feature requests: tools and setup](https://annsa.ai/customer-feedback-management/how-to-track-feature-requests)

If anything on this page is wrong or missing, tell us: https://annsa.ai/contact