Terms Flashcards
A/B Test:
A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app against each other to determine which one performs better. Often, an A/B test will give 50% of users experience “A” and the other 50% experience “B.” Product managers often help choose which variant is better (“A” or “B”) based on metric analysis.
API
Stands for Application Programming Interface. A product’s API extends the functionality of the product to other parties. For instance, a Facebook API might allow other products (like Venmo) use Facebook log-in to authenticate users.
Beta Test
A trial phase of the product’s launch. This is usually scoped to a select group of early adopter users, and the product may still have bugs in it.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.
Conversion Rate:
The percentage of visitors to a particular website who complete a desired goal (e.g. pay for a service)
Churn Rate:
The percentage rate at which customers unsubscribe or don’t retain as users of a feature or product.
CTR
stands for “clickthrough rate.” The percentage of people visiting a web page who access a hypertext link to a particular advertisement.
Customer Segment:
Customer segmentation is the process of dividing customers into groups based on common characteristics so companies can market to each group effectively and appropriately.
DAU/MAU:
Stands for daily active users or monthly active users. DAU and MAU are metrics used to determine how many users are using a product on a regular basis. For instance, a daily active user describes a user that uses a product on a daily basis. Generally, companies want high DAU/MAU metrics.
Dogfood:
Using a product internally to test it before publicly releasing it. One might dogfood a new Google Maps feature (just have the Google Maps team use it to test it out) before launching it into beta mode.
Early Adopters
These users use the product as soon as it is available. These are often the product’s most dedicated fans, and are likely to be beta testers.
Go-to-market Strategy:
The launch plan for a product. Consider this the blueprint for delivering the product from the company into the users’ hands.
Impression:
An instance of a pop-up or other Web advertisement being seen on computer users’ screens.
KPI:
Stands for Key Performance Indicator. Quantifiable measure of a company’s objective (e.g. KPI for growth might be an increased number of DAUs)
Low-hanging fruit:
An easy product or feature change that can substantially improve metrics. For instance, adding a button to the homepage for users to purchase a product might be a “low-hanging fruit.”
Mobile Web / Native:
“Native” often refers to apps downloaded to a smartphone or computer. Web apps are those that are accessed via a URL. For instance, the Facebook app is a native app. The Facebook.com on a mobile Google Chrome browser in one’s smartphone is on the mobile web platform
MVP
stands for minimum viable product. A product that only delivers the core, bare-bones functionality of your final product. An MVP is useful to get an initial sampling of user feedback. For example, Airbnb’s MVP might be an editable spreadsheet that hosts and guests can use to match up with each other for vacations.
North Star Metric:
The single metric that best captures the success of your product. Of course, no metric will tell a full story, but the north star metric is the top, most important metric a product manager would select.
Pain Point:
A pain point is a problem that prospective customers or users are experiencing. Pain point identification is helpful to generate targeted solutions.
Product Roadmap
High-level summary of a product’s vision and direction over time.
