Current Value (CV): Stakeholder Satisfaction

Overview

• What you’ll learn: The Current Value KVA, example metrics (NPS, CSAT, employee satisfaction, revenue per user), how to measure CV, and common pitfalls in measuring stakeholder satisfaction.
• Prerequisites: Lesson 40 — What is EBM?
• Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

Introduction

Current Value (CV) measures the value that the product or service delivers to stakeholders right now. It answers the question: “How happy are our customers, users, and employees with what we currently provide?”

This seems like an easy question, but most organizations cannot answer it with data. They rely on assumptions: “Our customers seem happy — nobody has complained this month.” Absence of complaints is not evidence of satisfaction. It might just mean dissatisfied customers have quietly left.

Example CV Metrics

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): “On a scale of 0–10, how likely are you to recommend us?” Simple, widely used, and comparable across industries.
• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): “How satisfied are you with [specific interaction]?” More granular than NPS.
• Employee Satisfaction: Happy employees create better products. This is part of CV because employee morale directly affects product quality.
• Revenue per User: A proxy for value delivered. If users are paying more or using more, you are likely delivering more value.
• Usage Frequency: How often users engage with the product. Daily active users vs. monthly active users ratio.
• Support Ticket Volume: High volume may indicate quality problems. Low volume may indicate good product — or that users have given up.

How to Measure CV

Choose 2–3 metrics that are meaningful for your context. Don’t try to measure everything. The goal is to have a data point you can track over time and correlate with experiments.

Measure regularly — at least every Sprint. If you only measure annually, you cannot connect improvements to specific changes.

Common Pitfalls

• Vanity metrics: Page views and downloads sound impressive but don’t indicate value delivery.
• Survivor bias: You survey existing customers but ignore those who left. The most valuable feedback comes from churned users.
• Leading questions: “How much do you love our product?” is not a valid survey question.

Key Takeaways

• CV measures the value delivered to stakeholders right now.
• Use NPS, CSAT, employee satisfaction, revenue/user, usage frequency.
• Measure regularly (every Sprint) to connect improvements to experiments.
• Avoid vanity metrics, survivor bias, and leading questions.