Metrics only capture things that can be quantified

Metrics can only capture things which can be quantified. Sometimes this leads to only an indication of what you truly want to measure. How do you measure emotions?

Indications, not the thing itself examples

• Time on page vs engagement or actually reading an article
• Sign up to join a waitlist vs how interested are you in this
• Customer retention vs how valuable do you find this product
• Returning use of a medition vs how relaxing was this?

Sometimes, getting customer feedback is a better signal or quantification of something that cannot truly be measured.

As long as you’re aware that you’re measuring and optimizing towards an indication or proxy the metric is meaningful. If you are not aware, they tend to be harmful.