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Great products come from intuition guided by data, not intuition versus data.
I’ve always been excited by the power of data storytelling.
My time at SAP and Splunk shaped a fundamental belief that data reveals truths instincts often miss. I love the excitement of being able to create analytics experiences which spark that “eureka” moment.
I entered each of my previous roles convinced that once people saw the value of analytical decision making, they would naturally get addicted to that “eureka” like me.
I was wrong.
The uphill battle for metrics adoption
As a champion for metrics, I’d often encountered resistance.
This didn’t come from apathy, but from deeply held beliefs about how product development should work. Many PMs are used to relying on intuition, experience, and a strong sense of user empathy. In these environments, KPI dashboards might exist, but they are rarely part of the decision-making. Metrics are often consulted only when something breaks, not when there is an opportunity to improve.
This resistance reflects a broader cultural hesitation around data. Over time, I came to understand that this reluctance is often personal and complex.
When a PM’s value is tied to intuition, data can feel unnecessary - a distraction that slows down velocity. Adding metrics feels like one more thing competing for attention when teams are already stretched thin.
If metrics conflict with PM instincts, it is easier to question the numbers than your own judgment.
Many PMs take pride in deeply understanding their users; reducing that insight to numbers can feel like stripping away their connection to the customer experience. I’ve seen thoughtful PMs disregard useful data. Not because they were defensive, but because they believed the numbers could not fully capture their user understanding. This belief has merit, but it's incomplete.
What I learned is that the best product teams don't choose between data and intuition, they use each to amplify the other.
Reframing the relationship between data and intuition
In practice, this means rethinking the role of data. Data isn't a replacement for intuition. It's a checkpoint to confirm if you're headed in the right direction.
Think of yourself as a driver. You may know your destination, but you still glance at the GPS to make sure you're on track. The longer you go without checking, the more a small wrong turn can turn into a major detour. The GPS doesn’t replace your ability to reach the final destination; it supports it. Similarly, metrics don't replace your product judgment, they help you course-correct when your instincts might be leading you astray.
When metrics remain an afterthought, two problems emerge:
First, you develop confirmation bias, embracing data that confirms your beliefs while dismissing contradictory signals. You end up reinforcing assumptions instead of testing them.
Second, you lose the opportunity to build adaptive product taste. Most PMs assume that once they find the "right" metrics, those metrics should remain constant. This misconception holds teams back from building products that respond to user needs.
The adaptive nature of good metrics
Good metrics are not static. They evolve alongside your product and users. Understanding them requires more ongoing customer connection, not less.
Take a dashboard feature, for example. For new users, high time-on-page might signal engagement as they explore and configure. But for returning users, success looks different. Ideally, they should be able to check their dashboard in seconds and move on. If you’re actually interested in long-term user retention, you’re optimizing for the wrong outcome with high time-on-page.
Or consider alert systems. Simply counting the number of created alerts does not accurately reflect user success. What truly matters is how users respond. Specifically, things like how often users silence triggered alerts is a clearer sign of frustration or dissatisfaction.
Getting this right demands both data literacy and deep customer empathy. It means connecting metrics with real user behavior and adapting those metrics as behavior changes. Quality isn't a fixed benchmark. It’s an moving target shaped by evolving needs and expectations.
In today’s fast-changing product landscape, what worked six months ago might frustrate users today. Intuition alone can’t keep up. You need data to guide continuous adaptation.
Moving forward with adaptive taste
The best PMs I’ve worked with share one key trait: they’re open to being wrong. They see product intuition as an evolving skill that grows stronger through continuous feedback, not as a fixed talent that exists in isolation.
As user preferences diversify and shift faster than ever, adaptability becomes more valuable than getting it right the first time. This is not about abandoning intuition for data, it is about understanding that the highest form of product intuition constantly recalibrates based on real-world signals.
The path forward is not choosing between data or intuition, it is building systems where both reinforce each other. Your product sense guides which metrics matter, and those metrics in turn sharpen your intuition for the next decision.
Finding a data-informed culture at Statsig
This is why I chose Statsig: to help amplify a culture where data strengthens intuition rather than replaces it. In my first week, my manager asked me to build the tracking specs for a new feature. It was the first time in my career someone proactively prompted me to design metric specs.
I knew I was in the right place.
At Statsig, data is already woven into how decisions are made. It does not need to be defended or justified. The goal is not to replace product intuition with numbers, but to create systems that make data-informed decisions the natural choice.
That shift makes data more accessible to everyone. When creating dashboards is as simple as using a drag-and-drop interface, teams can explore insights without relying on a developer environment. Data becomes something everyone can use and trust, not just a tool for specialists.
If these challenges resonate with you, our team has partnered with hundreds of product teams. We have learned the same lessons through wins and setbacks.
We have distilled those insights into The Pursuit of Imperfection: A Playbook for Outcome-Obsessed PMs, offering frameworks to develop adaptive product taste in any context.
If you want practical strategies to build a healthy relationship between data and intuition, take a look.
Product manager playbook
