AMA: TikTok Head of Product, AI-powered Automated Services, Adrianne Wang Martinson on Product Management KPI's

The worst KPIs are those that don’t provide actionable insight. A common misconception is that tracking NPS or CSAT for a chatbot is inherently bad - it isn’t. These metrics are valuable for understanding overall sentiment. The problem arises when PMs only track high-level user experience metrics without connecting them to product inputs. For example, if you only monitor CSAT, you won’t know whether issues stem from model accuracy, workflow logic, feature gaps, or data quality. Vanity metrics - ...Read More

First, let’s define what “good” means: an OKR is measurable, actionable, and insightful - guiding decision-making, tracking progress, and surfacing opportunities for improvement. I like to define OKRs along these dimensions: North Star metric: The ultimate outcome that defines success. Input metrics: Indicators that drive the outcome (e.g., feature usage). Output metrics: Metrics that reflect the result of the inputs (e.g., resolution accuracy). Counter metrics: Ensure progress in one area doesn ...Read More

Absolutely. I like to think about AI’s role in KPI tracking and forecasting across three dimensions: 1. What is happening:AI monitors real-time product and business data to show the current state. For instance, in customer service, AI continuously tracks chatbot resolution accuracy, user engagement, and satisfaction trends, helping teams detect anomalies early and respond faster. 2. What will happen:AI models can predict future outcomes, such as case volumes, user demand shifts, or retention ris ...Read More

A proper KPI is one that directly measures progress toward the desired outcome, is actionable by the team, and provides insight to guide next steps. It should be:• Aligned with the product or business objective,• Measurable with reliable data,• Actionable within the team’s control or influence, and• Insightful enough to explain why results are trending a certain way. KPIs are not just numbers; they are guiding lights. While tracking progress is critical, the insights KPIs provide are even more i ...Read More

I love this question. Roles often overlap and vary by company, so I’ll speak from my experience. Product Managers (PMs) own the product vision, strategy, roadmap, feature performance, and adoption metrics - they ensure the product works and delivers value. Product Marketing Managers (PMMs) focus on go-to-market success: positioning, awareness, engagement, and adoption. They also collect critical insights, such as user feedback, competitor analysis, and pain points, which inform both product and ...Read More

The key is alignment: every KPI must directly map to the desired outcome. Proxy metrics can be convenient but misleading. For example, tracking only chatbot resolution time may suggest speed, but doesn’t capture accuracy or user satisfaction. A better KPI combines resolution accuracy, time, and follow-up behavior, providing a holistic view of real impact. Periodic validation is also critical: if changes in the KPI don’t reflect true progress toward the goal, the metric needs adjustment. Direct, ...Read More

I start by defining the ultimate outcome the product is meant to achieve. Then I map metrics that directly reflect that outcome, ensuring they are measurable and actionable. I separate leading indicators, which provide early signals (e.g., feature usage), from lagging indicators, which measure final impact (e.g., user retention or satisfaction). Finally, I ensure accountability is aligned with influence: PMs should own metrics they can directly impact, not ones solely dependent on other teams or ...Read More