Module
Module 5 of 6Lesson 1 of 3~16 min

Build and read a funnel

A poorly configured funnel can blame the wrong step and send the team off to fix the wrong screen. This lesson helps a PM build a funnel where every setting is explicit, spot where users drop off, and check by segment before drawing conclusions. Useful for prioritizing activation or conversion work.

Take this lesson: your first course is freeSee the full syllabus

Lesson objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to build a funnel (steps, order, unit counted, conversion window, entry population), spot the step with the largest drop-off and break it down by segment before concluding anything.

Topics covered

  • conversion funnel
  • conversion window
  • drop-off
  • funnel analysis
  • activation

Where it fits

Analyse usage

Where do users drop off, who comes back, and which tool shows it?

Lessons in this module

  1. Build and read a funnel (this lesson)
  2. Cohorts and retention, knowing whether customers stay
  3. Choose your product analytics tool

What you will learn in the course

This lesson is part of the course Instrument a product and use data to make decisions

  • Build a product's metrics tree (North Star, input metrics, guardrails) from the decisions to be made, and rule out vanity metrics.
  • Design an implementable tracking plan (events, properties, naming convention, identity and accounts, emitting source, owners).
  • QA and monitor event collection to get reliable data, and know what to do when it is not.
  • Collect usage data in line with the GDPR and the CNIL rules (consent, audience measurement exemption, minimisation, retention period).
  • Analyse a conversion funnel, activation and cohort retention, and interpret the resulting curves correctly.
  • Choose a product analytics tool (PostHog, Amplitude, Mixpanel, GA4, data warehouse) based on needs, constraints and cost.
  • Turn an analysis into a reasoned decision (dashboard, decision memo) while avoiding interpretation traps (vanity, Simpson, correlation, small counts).

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