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description: 'PRD metrics-frameworks reference - cite-only registry of HEART, AARRR, North Star, ICE/RICE, and JTBD measurement frameworks naming publisher, year, and URL per entry, with original guidance on selecting PRD success metrics; no upstream framework prose redistributed - Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core'
---

# PRD Metrics Frameworks

This document is the cite-only registry the PRD Builder points at when selecting success metrics for the Metrics & Success Criteria and Goals sections of the canonical PRD template. Every entry names the framework, its author or publisher, the year, and a canonical URL, followed by a one-sentence original Microsoft summary of why the PRD Builder references it. No dimensions, formulas, or definitions are copied from the cited sources.

## How to use this file

* Cite an entry from a PRD authoring artifact by linking to its anchor below.
* Never copy the upstream dimension list, formula, or canvas into the PRD or into any HVE-Core artifact. Name the framework and let the reader follow the URL.
* Pick the smallest set of metrics that ties each goal to an observable signal; prefer one North Star plus a short supporting set over an exhaustive scorecard.

## Selecting PRD success metrics (repository-original guidance)

1. Every business goal in the PRD has at least one measurable signal with a baseline, a target, and a measurement window.
2. Distinguish leading indicators (early signals) from lagging outcomes (the result that matters).
3. Avoid vanity counts; prefer metrics that move only when the product delivers real value.
4. Name the data source and owner for each metric so it is instrumented, not aspirational.

## Cite-only framework registry

### HEART (Google)

* **Publisher** — Google (Kerry Rodden, Hilary Hutchinson, Xin Fu), CHI 2010.
* **URL** — [https://research.google/pubs/measuring-the-user-experience-on-a-large-scale-user-centered-metrics-for-web-applications/](https://research.google/pubs/measuring-the-user-experience-on-a-large-scale-user-centered-metrics-for-web-applications/)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — User-experience metrics framework for goal-signal-metric selection. Its five dimensions are referenced by name only and are not enumerated inline; the PRD Builder selects and defines metrics in its own prose.

### AARRR pirate metrics (Dave McClure)

* **Publisher** — Dave McClure, 500 Startups, "Startup Metrics for Pirates", 2007.
* **URL** — [https://500.co/](https://500.co/)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — Lifecycle-funnel framework for thinking about acquisition through revenue. Referenced as a bibliography entry; the funnel stages are not reproduced inline.

### North Star metric

* **Publisher** — Amplitude / Sean Ellis (popularized framing), ongoing.
* **URL** — [https://amplitude.com/north-star](https://amplitude.com/north-star)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — Single-metric framing for aligning a product on the one measure that best captures delivered value. Referenced by name as a metrics-selection pointer.

### ICE / RICE prioritization

* **Publisher** — Sean Ellis (ICE); Intercom (RICE), ongoing.
* **URL** — [https://www.intercom.com/blog/rice-simple-prioritization-for-product-managers/](https://www.intercom.com/blog/rice-simple-prioritization-for-product-managers/)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — Lightweight scoring schemes for ranking opportunities and requirements. The PRD Builder names the schemes and applies its own scoring columns; upstream scoring formulas are not reproduced.

### Jobs To Be Done (measurement framing)

* **Publisher** — Anthony Ulwick (Outcome-Driven Innovation) / Clayton Christensen, ongoing.
* **URL** — [https://jobs-to-be-done.com/](https://jobs-to-be-done.com/)
* **Why the PRD Builder cites it** — Outcome-measurement lens for expressing success as progress on a user's job rather than feature usage. Referenced by name; outcome statements are authored in the PRD's own metric rows.

## License

This reference file is original Microsoft content licensed under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The metric-selection guidance is HVE-Core IP and may be reused under the same license. The frameworks named in the registry remain the property of their respective authors and publishers; their prose is accessed by the reader through the cited URLs and is never redistributed here.

> Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core
