Product analytics implementation hiccups that are easy to spot
Blog post from Mixpanel
In the realm of product analytics, the effectiveness of data can be significantly undermined by technical issues in event tracking, despite having a well-thought-out analytics strategy. Common problems include successive event repeats, disjoint event duplicates, event skipping, and semantic mismatches, which can lead to misleading insights if not identified and corrected. Successive event repeats occur when an event is recorded multiple times erroneously, often due to coding errors, while disjoint duplicates are harder to spot as they are mixed with legitimate events. Event skipping might happen due to network issues or flawed tracking logic, where certain events fail to register under specific conditions. Semantic mismatches arise when there's a disconnect between the intended meaning of an event and its implementation, potentially leading to data that tells the wrong story. The article emphasizes the importance of collaboration between product and engineering teams to ensure technical specifics are aligned with analytic goals, highlighting the need for thorough testing and clear communication to prevent data inaccuracies.