In a previous article, I took you through the roller coaster ride of instrumenting 100+ events for a product. Every challenge we faced on that journey was worth it because we learned important lessons. In this series, I aim to provide a step-by-step guide on instrumenting events for your product.
What is Event Instrumentation, Anyway?
Event Instrumentation is naming each button click or screen load event to monitor user interactions with your product. This careful process helps us better understand the most popular user journeys, find the stickiest features of your product, and gain essential insights about user engagement throughout the product's life. In short, it's like gaining behind-the-scenes access to your product's performance, allowing you to refine and improve its every move!
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Before I jump into the guide, I want to share two main points :
1. The Instrumentation Philosophy: Go Big, But Prioritize
The age-old question arises: Should we go big and instrument everything we can think of, or should we play it safe and focus only on the critical events? It's a problem that many of us have wrestled with, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer. But here's my two cents on the matter.
If you're new to event instrumentation, it's best to start small and prioritize the critical events. Think of it as a journey of gradual growth and expansion. By focusing on the essential interactions, you can get comfortable with the process and build a solid foundation. Once you've gained confidence and expertise, you can scale your efforts and tackle the larger instrumentation landscape.
On the other hand, if you're already well-versed in the art of event instrumentation, going big might be a viable option. Instrumenting everything can provide a comprehensive view of user behaviour and product interactions. However, even in this scenario, staying laser-focused on the critical events that align with your key performance indicators (KPIs) is crucial. A well-defined process can help you streamline your efforts and ensure that you're gathering the most valuable insights.
Here's a pro tip: With a Customer Data Platform (CDP) like Segment in your tech toolkit, you can have multiple event destinations. This means you can stream all your events to your data lake and handpick the critical events to send to your trusted user behaviour analysis tool, such as Amplitude. It's like having the flexibility to paint with broad strokes while adding precise touches to create a masterpiece of data-driven decision-making.
2. Always Test Events: Trust, but Verify!
Trust me, this is a step you don't want to skip! Imagine trying to fix events retroactively. It's like untangling a maze without a map – a real headache! So, here are two essential types of testing that I highly recommend."
- Logic Testing: Does the button click happen as intended in the Figma design?
- Syntax Testing: Do the events follow the naming standards, or are there any typos?
Key Steps In The Event Instrumentation Process
Now that we have a rough idea of instrumentation, let's tackle this using a framework.
