Field notes
What counts as onboarding completion
A practical way to pick one completion event so product, analytics, and leadership stop reporting three different rates.
Most Bangkok product teams we meet already publish an “onboarding completion” number. Few of them can say, in one sentence, which screen or action that number represents.
Start with the first meaningful outcome
Completion should mark the moment a new user has done the smallest action that proves the product’s promise — not the moment an account record exists. For a booking app that might be the first confirmed appointment; for a wallet, the first funded balance; for a content app, the first saved item after personalisation.
Account creation, tip screens, and permission prompts are checkpoints on the way. They are rarely the finish line.
Write the rule before you rename events
Before anyone opens the analytics console, write a one-line rule: “A user has completed onboarding when ___, within ___ of first open, excluding ___.” Then check whether your current events can support that sentence. Gaps become the measurement backlog; arguments about colour and copy wait until the sentence is stable.
Keep guest and skip paths honest
If users can skip personalisation or continue as a guest, decide whether those paths can ever count as complete. Mixing them into the main rate creates a cheerful number that collapses under scrutiny. Separate cohorts beat a blended completion percentage every time.