How can I start a Weekly Metrics Review?

Practically speaking, starting the habit of metric reviews isn’t always

easy, bacause you need convince other functions that it’s worth their
time. If you are the data representative, start by discussing the idea
with the person who has overall accountability for the team’s work
and would be most interested in tracking progress and aligning
towards a common goal. This could be the CEO, a general manager
(ie head of operations, head of sales), or a product leader (ie PM,
engineering lead, etc.)

If you yourself are the directly accountable individual, then propose

the idea of a metrics review with your data partner. If both of you
agree, then ask the rest of the team to commit to trying it for at least
a quarter. Tacking the practice to the start of a pre-existing team
meeting also reduces friction.

Your metrics review doesn’t have to be fully comprehensive to start.

Consider beginning with a 10-minute slot every other week. The data
representative should be prepared to direct the agenda and remind
everyone of the goals in the early sessions (This is our main goal
metric… I am showing you this segment because… I am showing
you this related metric because…) Use the first few sessions to get
feedback about the right set of metrics and cuts to look at.
Remember: it’s better to start small and add over time than to
overwhelm the group by flipping through dozens of charts and
numbers. You can always follow up with a short e-mail summarizing
what got discussed, with links for further exploration.

What other practices help a team use data well?

Stay tuned for the sequel: why your team should have insights report
and insights reviews.