Time to value
tym tuh VAL-yoo
The amount of time it takes a new user to experience the core value of a product after signing up.
Time to value measures how long it takes a new user to get their first meaningful outcome from your product. For a deployment platform, it is the time from signup to first successful deploy. For an analytics tool, it is the time to first insight.
Shorter time to value means higher activation and retention. Every minute between signup and value is a minute the user might give up. The best developer tools have TTV measured in minutes. The worst enterprise products have TTV measured in months.
Reducing TTV is one of the highest-leverage things a product team can do. Common tactics: pre-configured templates, sample data, guided walkthroughs, and removing steps that are not essential for the first experience. A well-designed onboarding flow is the primary lever for shortening TTV.
Examples
A team measures and reduces TTV.
Current TTV: 45 minutes (signup to first successful API call). The team removes account verification (use email confirmation later), adds a pre-configured API key, and provides a copy-paste code sample. New TTV: 8 minutes.
TTV differs by user segment.
Developers who use the CLI have a TTV of 5 minutes. Developers who use the web dashboard have a TTV of 15 minutes. The team investigates: the dashboard has more steps. They streamline the dashboard experience to match the CLI speed.
A company benchmarks TTV against competitors.
The team measures how long it takes to complete the same task with each competitor. Their product: 12 minutes. Competitor A: 30 minutes. Competitor B: 3 hours (requires a sales demo). TTV becomes a marketing differentiator.
In practice
Read more on the blog
Frequently asked questions
What is a good time to value?
As short as possible. For self-serve developer tools, under 10 minutes is the gold standard. For B2B SaaS with data integrations, under an hour is strong. For enterprise platforms with complex implementations, under a week is acceptable. The trend should always be downward.
How do you reduce time to value?
Remove every step that is not essential for the first experience. Provide templates and sample data. Defer configuration. Automate what can be automated. Every click, form field, and waiting period between signup and value is a candidate for elimination.
Related terms
The moment when a new user experiences the core value of a product for the first time, making them likely to return.
The process of guiding new users from signup to their first experience of product value.
The instant when a user first understands the value of a product, often through experiencing a key feature or outcome.
Want the complete playbook?
Picks and Shovels is the definitive guide to developer marketing. Amazon #1 bestseller with practical strategies from 30 years of marketing to developers.