MSc: Unit-economics For IT startups

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Unit-economics for IT startups: metrics-based decision making

  • Course name: Unit-economics for IT startups: metrics-based decision making
  • Code discipline:
  • Subject area:

Short Description

This course covers the following concepts: Product metrics; Data-driven decision making; Unit economics and cohorts analysis; Metrics collection automation tools; Product’s backlog planning.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite subjects

Prerequisite topics

Course Topics

Course Sections and Topics
Section Topics within the section
Metrics, unit economics, cohort analysis
  1. Unit economics - what it is and how to calculate it;
  2. Basic metrics - CAC/ARPU/ARPPU/LTV;
  3. Customer economics, AARRR model;
  4. ROI/ROMI;
  5. Cohorts and cohorts analysis;
Metrics collection automation tools
  1. Automatic services for collecting product metrics (online analytics tools Google and Yandex)
  2. Manual data collection techniques (Python, Google dashboards, power BI/Tableau)
Hypotheses, management reports and forecasting
  1. Behavioral cohorts;
  2. DAU/MAU, stickyness;
  3. North star metric - how to work with it?
  4. Forecasting;
  5. Budgeting;
  6. Product planning and prioritizing;

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

What is the main purpose of this course?

The main purpose of this course is to teach students to collect the product data, analyze it and make metrics-based decisions. Students will learn the tools for gathering and analyzing data and get the practice of applying this knowledge in simulated practical classes as well as in their research projects.

ILOs defined at three levels

Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Metrics and indicators required to assess the effectiveness of a product;
  • Tools for collecting and analyzing product metrics and indicators;
  • Decision making methods based on the analysis of a product metrics and indicators;

Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Ability to measure and manage economic efficiency of a business;
  • Creating data acquisition models for analyzing products metrics;
  • Calculating unit economics;
  • Ability to use a cohort analysis of user behavior;
  • Ability to specify key and secondary indicators for the business and work with them in dynamics;
  • Ability to make metric-based decisions;

Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

  • Calculating and analyzing product metrics;
  • Identifying growth drivers - levers of influence over the product economic success of the product;
  • Defining a business unit for calculating indicators and a sales funnel;
  • Researching the client's traffic funnel, identifying weak points in it and the ways to eliminate them;
  • Identifying business bottlenecks based on key product metrics;
  • Presenting the results of business research;

Grading

Course grading range

Grade Range Description of performance
A. Excellent 85-100 -
B. Good 75-85 -
C. Satisfactory 60-74 -
D. Poor 0-59 -

Course activities and grading breakdown

Activity Type Percentage of the overall course grade
Weekly student reports 20
Lab №1 10
Team brainstorm 20
Lab №2 20
Final presentation 30

Recommendations for students on how to succeed in the course

Resources, literature and reference materials

Open access resources

  • Textbook: McClure D. Startup metrics for pirates. Slideshare. net. 2007 Aug.
  • Textbook:Maurya A. Scaling lean: Mastering the key metrics for startup growth. Penguin; 2016 Jun 14.
  • Textbook: Croll A, Yoskovitz B. Lean analytics: Use data to build a better startup faster. " O'Reilly Media, Inc."; 2013 Apr 15.
  • Textbook: Бланк Стив Стартап: Настольная книга основателя / Бланк Стив, Дорф Боб. — Москва : Альпина Паблишер, 2019. — 623 c. — ISBN 978-5-9614-1983-2. — Текст : электронный // Электронно-библиотечная система IPR BOOKS : [сайт]. — URL: http://www.iprbookshop.ru/82518.html (дата обращения: 01.07.2021). — Режим доступа: для авторизир. Пользователей
  • Textbook: Masters B, Thiel P. Zero to one: notes on start ups, or how to build the future. Random House; 2014 Sep 18.

Closed access resources

Software and tools used within the course

Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities

Activities and Teaching Methods

Activities within each section
Learning Activities Section 1 Section 2 Section 3
Homework and group projects 1 1 1
Discussions 1 0 0

Formative Assessment and Course Activities

Ongoing performance assessment

Section 1

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Question Unit economics - what it is and how to calculate it; 1
Question Basic metrics - CAC/ARPU/ARPPU/LTV; 1
Question Single customer economy, AARRR model; 1
Question ROI/ROMI; 1
Question Cohorts and cohorts analysis; 1
Question Unit economics - what it is and how to calculate it; 0
Question Basic metrics - CAC/ARPU/ARPPU/LTV; 0
Question Single customer economy, AARRR model; 0
Question ROI/ROMI; 0
Question Cohorts and cohorts analysis; 0

Section 2

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Question Select an appropriate methodology and data collection method for product analytics of the research project or simulated product; 1
Question Automatic services for collecting product metrics (online analytics tools Google and Yandex); 0
Question Manual data collection techniques (Python, Google dashboards, power BI/Tableau); 0

Section 3

Activity Type Content Is Graded?
Question Forecast the product evolution and identify growth drivers; 1
Question Make a few hypotheses for the product improvement, fix the changes in the forecasting of product metrics. 1
Question Behavioral cohorts; 0
Question DAU/MAU, stickyness; 0
Question North star metric - how to work with it? 0
Question Forecasting; 0
Question Budgeting; 0
Question Product planning and prioritizing; 0

Final assessment

Section 1

  1. What type of metrics does exist? Which of them are the most important and why?
  2. How to calculate marketing cost effectiveness in the product metrics analysis?
  3. What is the main idea of the cohorts? When it is needed to make cohort analysis?
  4. Calculation of the unite economics for the student's choice product;

Section 2

  1. Describe the analytic model of the data collection method for product analytics of the research project or simulated product;
  2. Which data should be collected and for which metrics are going to be used?

Section 3

  1. Prepare the proposals and a rationale for a list of proposed product solutions in order of priority that are recommended for implementation.

The retake exam

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3