Event Tracking Recommendations for Productivity App

Generates hypothesis framework for a productivity app with 150 users, providing recommended events to track, expected correlations, and data collection templates before full analysis.

Input

What you provide to the skill

I have a productivity app with 150 users. What events should I track to find my activation metric?

Output

What the skill generates for you

Activation Metric Discovery: Productivity App

Framework for Analysis

To find your activation metric, I need to analyze which events predict retention. Please share your event data as CSV with these columns:

user_id
event_name
event_timestamp
retained_30d (or retained_60d)

Hypothesis: Likely Activation Candidates for Productivity Apps

Based on common productivity app patterns, here are events you should track:

Event Category	Event Name	Expected Correlation	Rationale
Core Actions	create_task	High	Primary value delivery - indicates user understood core feature
	complete_task	Very High	Value realization - feeling of accomplishment drives retention
	create_project	High	Organization behavior, commitment signal
Habit Formation	complete_task (5+)	Very High	Repeated value extraction builds habit
	days_active_first_week	Very High	Frequency matters more than single actions
	morning_session	Medium-High	Time-of-day habit formation
Organization	add_tag	Medium	Power user behavior
	set_due_date	Medium-High	Planning ahead = commitment
	create_category	Medium	Customization indicates investment
Collaboration	invite_user	High	Network effects and commitment
	share_task	Medium-High	Collaborative value beyond solo use
	assign_task	Medium-High	Team coordination signal
Retention Drivers	enable_notifications	Medium	Re-engagement mechanism
	set_recurring_task	High	Long-term planning signal
	use_search	Medium	Content accumulation (good problem to have)
Integration	connect_calendar	High	Ecosystem lock-in
	enable_sync	Medium-High	Cross-device commitment

Recommended Event Tracking Setup

Minimum viable events to track:

signup - Baseline
create_task - Did they understand the product?
complete_task - Did they get value?
create_project - Organizational commitment
invite_user - Network effect
session_start - Track frequency (days_active calculation)

Additional high-value events:
7. set_due_date - Future planning
8. set_recurring_task - Long-term commitment
9. connect_integration - Calendar, email, etc.
10. enable_notifications - Re-engagement opt-in

What I’ll Calculate (Once You Share Data)

With 150 users, I can provide statistically meaningful analysis:

Event correlation: For each event, what % of users who did it retained at 30/60 days?
Threshold analysis: How many task completions predict retention? (1, 3, 5, 10?)
Timing windows: Does activity in first 3 days matter more than first 7 days?
Combination patterns: Do certain event sequences predict better? (e.g., create → complete → invite)
Velocity analysis: Time between signup and first value moment

Expected Primary Metric Candidates

Based on productivity app benchmarks, expect one of these:

Most likely: “Complete 3+ tasks in first 7 days”

Direct value realization
Within user control
Clear, measurable threshold

Secondary candidates:

“Active on 4+ days in first week” (habit formation)
“Create project + complete 5+ tasks in first week” (composite)
“Invite teammate in first 14 days” (if team-focused)

Data Collection Template

Export your analytics as CSV with this structure:

user_id,event_name,event_timestamp,retained_30d
u001,signup,2025-12-01 10:00:00,1
u001,create_task,2025-12-01 10:05:00,1
u001,complete_task,2025-12-01 11:30:00,1
u001,create_task,2025-12-01 14:00:00,1
u001,complete_task,2025-12-01 16:00:00,1
u002,signup,2025-12-01 11:00:00,0
u002,create_task,2025-12-01 11:10:00,0

Required columns:

user_id - Unique user identifier
event_name - Event type
event_timestamp - When event occurred (ISO 8601 format)
retained_30d - Binary: 1 if user was active 30 days later, 0 if churned

For 150 users: Aim to export all events from first 14 days after signup, plus retention status at 30 days.

Alternative: Aggregate Data Format

If event-level data is hard to export, you can provide aggregated metrics:

user_id,tasks_created,tasks_completed,projects_created,invites_sent,days_active_first_week,retained_30d
p001,15,12,3,2,6,1
p002,2,1,0,0,1,0
p003,8,6,1,0,4,1

I’ll identify which aggregated behaviors correlate with retention.

Ready for Analysis

Share your CSV and I’ll run the complete analysis with:

Correlation rankings for all events/metrics
Specific threshold recommendations (e.g., “3+ tasks” vs “5+ tasks”)
Framework evaluation (timing, user control, measurability)
User activation scores and intervention recommendations
A/B test plan to validate causation

Note: With 150 users, results will be reliable (100+ is the recommended minimum). Confidence increases with more users, but you have sufficient sample size for actionable insights.