Trusting Metrics at Pinterest
Article Summary
Pinterest relies on data to drive decisions and ML models. But what happens when a metric as simple as Daily Active Users gets counted wrong?
Pinterest's engineering team built a three-step certification process to ensure their core metrics stay accurate. Ryan Cooke, Engineering Manager, shares how they caught edge cases like browser extensions auto-logging users or activity being double-counted across platforms.
Key Takeaways
- Created product and technical specs to define exact metric behavior across platforms
- Built data checkers to find unexplained DAU and other anomalies automatically
- Implemented UI tests that block releases if metrics fail validation
- Run quarterly health checks to catch new use cases and edge cases
Critical Insight
Pinterest only certifies metrics that need near-perfect accuracy, using cross-functional teams of iOS, Android, Web, and data engineers to maintain trust.
