Checklist To Run North Star Metric (or OMTM) Workshops
As Product Enthusiasts, we all are reading about North Star Metric for some time now. It's one great framework we should not follow by the book but adapt to our startup/company reality, etc.
But how many of us actually have the opportunity to introduce the framework to our managers and peers? If some of us, how many receive green light but then realized the need to kick-off the initiative and settle many things before getting there?
Worry not! I've been there and decided to share my checklist of things you need to organise before schedule your first North Star Metric Workshop.
If the topic is new for you, The article mostly follow the workshop "guidelines" from The North Star Playbook book from Amplitude, so you can read more there and get back to this article after reading it. =]
Also, due to some similarities, if you are in a bigger company and your team do not use NSM but use OMTM (One Metric That Matter) the workshop checklist works really well too.
The article and checklist are based on my interpretation of articles and self-organization. You can find the bibliographic references in the article bottom.
North Star Metric (or OMTM) Workshop Checklist
Before the workshop
The workshop usually can be done in one or two hours, if you are prepared for it. Some things you should be checking before it:
▢ Ask support to a facilitator. It's the first and one of the most important things to do to a high-quality workshop;
▢ Send invites to guests with agenda, expected outcome and preferably why these people are invited (good meetings description usually do this);
▢ Slides deck with workshop agenda guiding the meeting;
▢ Room equipment: TV/Screen, Whiteboard, Internet, Room size with enough chairs (don't lose your time searching for chairs);
▢ Material: Post Its, Pen, paper;
▢ Define and print meeting guidelines (Safe space, Offenses are not welcomed, No individual performance judged, etc);
▢ Parking Lot: A simple page written Parking lot is enough to list important topics to the team, but not relevant during the workshop;
▢ Print North Star Framework Worksheet template;
▢ Print North Star Framework Worksheet example Opentable | Spotify;
▢ Print North Star Metric Checklist;
▢ Extra information and data: If the company have a shared strategy, vision, metrics or anything that can be relevant, print it and make it available during the workshop
Ask support to a facilitator. You will be busy managing high level discussions, so having someone to share the tasks and prepare activities with you, is one of the main reasons for a high level workshop outcome.
During the workshop
The workshop (or any meeting) always depend how well people know each other, how long they are working together, and how the relationships are built before the meeting.
Independently of who's joining, you should have clear expected outcomes on each stage of the meeting.
Below the list of stages that you should try to check some boxes during the meeting:
Ice breaker: This is an additional step that you need to feel if the group of people needs it. In my personal opinion, it worth every second, even if it lasts five minutes.
▢ Expected outcome: Set proper workshop environment
Opening discussion on the reasons for the North Star
▢ Expected outcome: Remember everyone the goal of the meeting, healthy discussion about the reasons we’re gathering, the problems we’d like to solve, or the changes we’d like to make.
Identify the game you are playing activity
▢ Expected outcome: Answer the question "which game is our business playing (Attention, Transaction, Productivity)?".
What makes a good (and bad) North Star discussion and activity
▢ Expected outcome: Review the North Star checklist.
The structure of the north star and Inputs discussion
▢ Expected outcome: understand the basic structure of the North Star Framework, including the metric and Inputs.
Identify a North Star for another product activity
▢ Expected outcome: To free your thinking from constraints, warm up by coming up with your own, hypothetical examples of North Star Metrics for products you are familiar with.
Drafting your own North Star and converge
▢ Expected outcome: Define team/company own candidates for North Star Metric and Inputs.
After the workshop
▢ Workshop Minutes;
▢ Next steps (what, when and where you will share the outcome);
▢ Define North Star Name and Description;
▢ Invite for follow up meetings;
▢ Post-Workshop survey;
▢ Share parking lot topics with interested parts.
Conclusion
As we can see, running the North Star Metric Workshop (or OMTM) can take just a couple of hours. But preparing all the material before with the pair facilitator can take a longer time. But it's worth it! You will be generating higher value and saving time from a bigger group of people. Besides that, the quality of your NSM/OMTM day to day life will correspond according to the first step you make.
So prepare yourself and the workshop for the hardest situations, expecting the best outcome.
Good luck & Happy planning!
