MECE: Double the Usefulness
of Your Metrics Trees

​Dear Reader,​

Many resources say your metrics trees need to be "MECE." But how do you do it?

MECE stands for:

Mutually

Exclusive

Collectively

Exhaustive

In the context of metrics trees, this means mapping the individual drivers of an overarching goal in a way that allows us to identify and improve domain-specific levers through selective focus, while creating holistic improvement.
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Let's take the example of being an online micro coffee roasting brand (wild idea, right?).

A high-level metric could be Total Profit. Instead of jumping straight into (and getting lost) in various metrics that are easy to throw around, let's collect the driver categories first. There isn't one right way to create a MECE metrics tree. So, here's one starting point:

Sales Volume
Unit Economics
Coffee Quality
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From here, we want to find one main representative metric for each category, and then connect its individual drivers (which could also each be broken down further).

Sales Volume: Represented by Number of Bags Sold, which could be driven by Number of Website Visitors and Conversion Rate.​
​
​Unit Economics: Represented by Average Margin per Bag Sold, which could be driven by Raw Material Purchase Price and Labor Cost.
​
​Coffee Quality: Represented by Average Purchase Rating, which could be driven by Roasting Process Consistency Adherence and Average Bean Supplier Rating.
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You could add more driver categories, like product variety or production volume. But I save these for the secret business plan in this daydream of mine. 🤫
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Yes, you could also map these out into a long vertical correlating branch. But that can make levers to focus on getting buried quickly.

Now, here's the thing: Understanding MECE is one thing. Actually building metrics trees that drive real decisions in your organization, connecting them to your North Star Metrics, OKRs, and KPIs, is another.

That's exactly what I'm covering in my upcoming free metrics masterclass: "Use Real-Life Metrics Trees to Define NSMs, OKRs, and KPIs."​

In 60 minutes, you'll learn:

• How to define metrics trees that reveal actionable metrics (not just nice-looking diagrams)
• How to choose which parts of your tree become KPIs or North Star Metrics
• How to connect your metrics tree to product strategy and discovery work

📅 March 4th at 5:00 PM CET | 60 Minutes | Hands-on Live Cases | No Recording

Thank you for Practicing Product,

​Tim​

If you consume one thing this week, make it this...

Who is Tim Herbig?

As a Product Management Coach, I guide Product Teams to measure the real progress of their evidence-informed decisions.

I focus on better practices to connect the dots of Product Strategy, Product OKRs, and Product Discovery.