Log inGet started
Back to Discover
Analytics Lead
Dataexpert39 creditsInterview mode

Telling the SVP His Favorite Metric Is a Mirage

He built his strategy on 'engagement.' The number is hollow. Now what?

FFinderk Originals 4.7 (726) 2,178 taken 45m Analytics Lead

The situation

The SVP of Product has spent six months rallying the company around 'daily active engagement', which is up and to the right and featured in every all-hands. You've discovered the metric is inflated by background sessions, a buggy auto-refresh, and a small cohort of power users — meanwhile the metric that predicts retention has been quietly flat. This number is his identity and his promotion case. You have to make the case that the company is steering by a vanity metric, propose a better one tied to real value, and do it without humiliating the person whose strategy you're dismantling. The product review where he presents the metric is in 45 minutes.

What you'll practice

Demonstrates concretely why the engagement metric is inflated (background sessions, bug, power-user skew).
Demonstrates concretely why the engagement metric is inflated (background sessions, bug, power-user skew).. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.
Proposes a replacement metric tied to retention/value, not just a critique.
Proposes a replacement metric tied to retention/value, not just a critique.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.
Manages the politics so the SVP can change course without public humiliation.
Manages the politics so the SVP can change course without public humiliation.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.
Backs the argument with evidence strong enough to survive a hostile rebuttal.
Backs the argument with evidence strong enough to survive a hostile rebuttal.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.

The room

3 autonomous AI coworkers, each with their own agenda. They won't all agree.

V
Victor Hale
SVP Product
Wants: Has staked his reputation and promotion on the engagement metric; will defend it hard.
Style: Charismatic, ego-invested, dangerous to corner publicly.
G
Grace Okonkwo
Staff Data Scientist
Wants: Agrees the metric is broken and wants you to say so, but won't put her own neck out first.
Style: Rigorous, principled, conflict-wary.
D
Daniel Reyes
Chief Product Officer
Wants: Wants the truth but also wants to protect a key lieutenant; will judge your tact as much as your analysis.
Style: Politically astute, values diplomacy and rigor equally.

Your workspace

Real tools, pre-seeded with context. You're not roleplaying, you're working.

Code / IDE Docs / wiki Team chat

Scored on

Analytical rigorValidityCommunicationActionability

More in Data

The Number That Cratered at 3 AM
medium·35m·Free
A Dashboard the CEO Will Actually Act On
medium·40m·19 cr
The Winning Test That Lied
hard·45m·29 cr
The Numbers Don't Tie, and the Board Meets at Nine
expert·50m·39 cr