Measuring After You Ship

Your feature is live. Now you want to know: did it work? Post-release metrics capture the “after” — letting VEKTIS compare what the metric looks like now against what it looked like before.

Just like with baselines, you pull the metric from whatever source you normally use — your analytics dashboard, observability tool, internal reports — and enter it into VEKTIS. Use the same source and measurement method you used for baselines so the comparison is apples-to-apples.

Prerequisites

Before you can add post-release metrics, you need:

1. A release date — The dev item must be marked as released (status: Measuring or Complete)
2. Baseline data (recommended) — At least one baseline metric recorded (2+ recommended for meaningful results). If you don’t have baseline data, VEKTIS can establish a baseline automatically from your first few post-release measurements.

Adding a post-release metric

1. Click on your dev item from the dashboard to open its detail page — you’ll find the Post-Release Metrics section below the baseline data
2. Click “Add Post-Release Metric”
3. Fill in the fields:
   • Date — When this measurement was taken. Must be on or after your release date, and can’t be in the future.
   • Value type — Must be compatible with your baseline type (see Metric Value Types)
   • Value — The actual measurement
   • Notes — Optional context (up to 500 characters)
4. Save — VEKTIS immediately calculates the delta, impact score, and interpretation

What happens when you save

Every time you add or update a post-release metric, VEKTIS automatically calculates:

• Delta — The difference between this measurement and your baseline average
• Impact score — A 0–100 score indicating how significant the change is, from Signal Detected (normal range) through Confirmed Impact to Significant Impact (strong evidence)
• Direction check — Whether the change is moving toward or away from your target
• Interpretation — A plain-language summary of what the result means

These calculations update instantly — no waiting or manual refresh needed.

Date rules

Post-release dates follow a simple logic:

• Must be on or after your release date — you can’t record a “post-release” measurement from before you shipped
• Can’t be in the future — measurements should reflect actual observed data
• One per date — Each date can only have one post-release metric. Edit the existing entry if you need to correct a value.

Type compatibility

Post-release metrics must use the same value type as your baseline (or a compatible duration type). This ensures the comparison is valid.

• If your baseline uses percentage, post-release must also use percentage
• If your baseline uses any duration type (seconds, minutes, hours), post-release can use any duration type — VEKTIS converts automatically

Note

The value type is determined by the first metric you add to a dev item — whether baseline or post-release. You can see the current type in the baseline metrics section of your dev item.

Building confidence over time

A single post-release measurement gives you a snapshot. Multiple measurements reveal a trend.

Post-release data points	What you can learn
1	Initial signal — interesting but not conclusive
2–3	Pattern emerging — if results are consistent, confidence grows
4+	Clear picture — you can make decisions with confidence

Tip

Space your measurements out. Weekly data points over a month tell you more than daily data points over a week, because they capture more natural variation in the metric.

Starting without baseline data

Sometimes you don’t have pre-release data — maybe the feature is entirely new, or you started measuring after it shipped. VEKTIS handles this with a burn-in process that establishes a baseline from your initial post-release measurements.

Here’s how it works:

1. Collecting measurements — You add post-release data points as usual. VEKTIS shows a progress indicator: “Establishing baseline from post-release data” with a count of how many measurements you’ve added so far.
2. Baseline established — Once you’ve added 3 measurements, VEKTIS uses those first data points as the baseline. This is equivalent to having collected baseline data before release.
3. Scoring begins — From the 4th measurement onward, VEKTIS calculates impact scores by comparing new data points against the established baseline — just like it would with pre-release baselines.

Tip

While the burn-in process works well, collecting baseline data before you ship is always better when possible. Pre-release baselines give you a true “before” picture, while burn-in baselines represent the metric shortly after release — which may already include the feature’s effect.

Note

Your first 3 measurements become the baseline. After that point, impact scores appear on all subsequent measurements — and you’ll see the same impact zones (Signal Detected, Confirmed Impact, Significant Impact) as with traditional baselines.

Editing and deleting post-release metrics

You can edit or delete post-release metrics while the dev item is in Measuring or Complete status.

• Editing — Change the date, value, value type, or notes. VEKTIS recalculates the impact automatically.
• Deleting — Removes the data point. Remaining metrics keep their individual calculations.

Common questions

Can I add post-release metrics to a dev item that’s “Complete”? Yes. Moving to Complete doesn’t lock out new measurements — it just signals that you consider the measurement period finished. You can still add data if needed.

What if my first post-release result shows “Signal Detected”? Don’t worry — that means the change is within the normal range so far. Keep measuring. A real impact often takes a few data points to become statistically clear, especially if the metric naturally fluctuates.

What if the impact direction is wrong (red indicator)? A red indicator means the metric moved opposite to your target. This is worth investigating, but one data point isn’t conclusive. If you see a consistent red pattern across multiple measurements, the feature may have had an unintended effect.