The book that tells you everything you need to know about Event Data

Analytics and data always look great from the outside. Companies present at big conferences about the huge competitive advantages they have gained because of their data and analytics setup.

So, why is this not working for us? Why is the data we track not fully trustworthy, and no one has a proper idea of how we use it to make faster and better decisions?

In this book, I explain why collecting and tracking event data is complicated and getting insights from the data is even harder. And what you can do to make it easier and faster to use data for better decisions.

The tracking dilemma

Design a great event tracking plan in just one week

Insufficient data or too many events are design problems, not implementation problems. Tracking 20 core events will give you the correct data.

Timo Timo

By Timo Dechau, Leading Event Data & Tracking and Product Analytics Expert

I have helped 60+ companies to fix their event data setup and collect the right data. When I do not fix these things, I write about data to over 13.00 followers on LinkedIn, YouTube and Substack.

Topics covered

When you take the tracking and collection of data seriously, you will need to think about a lot of things. We cover them all.

  • Why we need to track event data and why it fails so often

    Data helps us to build better products and services. But it is not easy to get it right.

  • Track the right amount of events

    Most setups with issues have a design issue and this design often includes too many but still not the essential events.

  • important

    Learn how to find the right product events

    Learn how to analyze feature performance, user journeys, and value moments with the right events.

  • Learn how to track granular interactions

    Interaction events are not important enough for an investor's report, but they are still essential for UX and product decisions.

  • How to implement tracking

    Everyone server-side? Yes, and no. We cover the different scenarios.

  • How to monitor your event data

    Implementations are not perfect and you need to monitor them to make sure they are working as expected.

  • How to change a event data setup

    Tracking data is an ongoing process and you will need to change your setup over time. We cover the different scenarios.

Sample Pages

A workbook looks different than a "normal" book. Here are some sample pages to give you an idea of what you can expect.

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Get the workbook

Work in progress edition: I treat this book like a product and constantly release new pages. There are 429 current pages already available.
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$40

$ per user

$40

Pay once, get all updates
  • ✓
    Access to the current version of the book on Dropbox
  • ✓
    Updates with new pages
Buy the book

For whom is this book

Not everyone has to think about tracking data (thanks god). But maybe you are one of them.

  • Product analyst
    Product Analyst
    You need the right product events to support your product team with feature and user performance data.
  • Marketing analyst
    Marketing Analyst
    You want to make sure that the core customer journey events are tracked with the right customer context
  • Product engineer
    Product engineer
    Usually they just drop the tracking requirements on your table. But you want to really understand the benefit and right shape of data to improve the product.
  • Product manager
    Product manager
    Maybe you don't have a product analyst but you want to know if your users get to the value moments you want them to get to.
  • Ceo
    Chief Executive Officer
    You are sick of hearing about hearing about the tracking issues, wrong or missing data and just need to the right book to forward to your team.
  • Cto
    Chief Technology Officer
    You can't really understand what is so challenging about implementing single lines of code and you want to make it a proper engineering topic.

More questions

"Whether you are starting from scratch or working with a 5-year-old tracking system, the course will guide you through a solid framework to approach your tracking design. I feel confident applying these principles in future companies or scenarios to create a business-oriented design with enough flexibility for product analytics."

Obed E. - Data Engineer, Vimeo

"Timo ran two event storming and metric tree workshops with NEUGELB to look at our existing tracking structure and give ideas what we could do better. I really enjoyed how he looked at it from a product perspective, showcasing how understanding the product or the feature would actually define the metric and tracking approach. What made the real difference for me was that product managers were part of the workshops, giving us a shared language to speak about metrics and tracking."

Eva Schreyer, Head of Data & Analytics, Neugelb

Amplitude for E-commerce, Step by Step.

Watch Timo Dechau’s masterclass in setting up digital analytics to understand your customer journey and convert and retain more shoppers.

Watch all five episodes here 

Amplitude.com

In just every data project

  • 1

    Why the tracking of event data is broken?

    Over 8 years of data projects, I consistently encountered imperfect event data. Initially, I focused on fixing tracking code issues. However, I realized the root cause was poor design.

    About 70% of tracking problems stem from flawed design. The key is to focus on events that truly represent your business and product, rather than collecting excessive, irrelevant data. This approach leads to quicker insights and smarter decision-making.

    Screenshot 2024 09 28 at 13.33.46
  • 2

    For a good event data design it is better to start top down

    My old event tracking plans were overly detailed and missed key events. To fix this, I changed my approach:

    Started with a broad business focus

    Identified key product entities

    Defined activities for these entities

    This resulted in a streamlined tracking design that answers crucial business and product questions. This book guides you through this process, helping you build an effective tracking setup for meaningful insights.

    Screenshot 2024 09 28 at 13.35.27
  • 3

    Interactions are great - but need a special place

    User interactions in apps are crucial for design analysis. However, they shouldn't complicate the main tracking design. My approach:

    Use a general formula like 'Element [action]' (e.g., clicked, viewed) Include context in properties (element type, position, icon, text, target)

    The book covers handling interaction events and automating their tracking, enhancing your design analytics process.

    Screenshot 2024 09 28 at 13.37.55
  • 4

    So there are no problems then with the implementation?

    A good event data design reduces implementation challenges by:

    Minimizing the number of events to track

    Offering flexible collection points (backend, databases, webhooks)

    This approach decreases implementation issues. The book provides solutions for any remaining problems.

    Screenshot 2024 09 28 at 13.39.05

Get the workbook

Work in progress edition: I treat this book like a product and constantly release new pages. There are 429 current pages already available.
Emoji cloud SVG Emoji sun SVG

$40

$ per user

$40

Pay once, get all updates
  • ✓
    Access to the current version of the book on Dropbox
  • ✓
    Updates with new pages
Buy the book

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