Product Instrumentation Best Practices

Overview

Gainsight PX recommends instrumenting your product using a product hierarchy model as opposed to a flat/one-level model. This allows you to maintain a more sustainable or scalable tracking strategy without getting lost in hundreds of tagged features, as your product matures over time. This can be done by creating main modules, sub-modules, and nesting features underneath.

Create a Product Tree/ Hierarchy

Some of the key benefits are:

• Eliminates the need for long or confusing names by having to rely on naming conventions.
• Accurate and reliable data as it eliminates:
  • Double-counting due to a repetition of features in the flat/ one-level model.
  • Unreliable statistics/data sources caused by an infinite feature list in a flat hierarchy.
• Unambiguous context on each distinct feature/sub-module/module.
  Example: Filters may be present on multiple pages. With the Product Tree model, one exactly knows whether it is Home > Dashboard > Filters or Data Intelligence > Reports > Filters and so on.
• Allows you to track or focus on multiple levels or elements of your application due to its tree/hierarchical model.
• The product tree enables the product tracking mechanism to be scalable or extensible, unlike a flat hierarchy.
• Easy to deploy In-App Engagement based on specific product workflows.
  Example: Trigger a security question to users who changed their password > 1 in last 30 days (Home > Account > Profile Settings > Update > Change Password).
• Allows you to focus on specific modules and its related aspects, whether its a sticky feature or an under-used feature.

Create Mapping Workflows

Some of the key benefits are:

• Map the product based on what it looks like, the way you describe it, and the way you want to query the data by, not driven by the user workflow/journey.
• Identify your application’s desired access path and track how distinct user groups or cohorts are navigating across the platform.
• Using Path Analyzer, you can analyze exactly where users are, while instrumenting/mapping your product as needed.
• Map the features with few clicks.
• Visualize or map the features or groups of features while you are in the app.
• Track the cyclic path based on conglomerated user sessions by default as opposed to having to emulate sessions.

When you are mapping your product for the first time, you can use the Instant mapper feature to get suggestions about mapping. To learn more about the instant mapping feature refer to the Instrument your Product with Product Mapper article from the Additional Resources section.

Additional Resources