Adoption
Part of Customer adoption management
Measuring use of the features that deliver customer value
Choose feature measures from the customer's task, define eligible users and check whether recorded actions show useful completion.
Measure a feature because it helps a named customer task. Count its use among the people or accounts expected to perform that task. Total clicks show activity; they do not show whether the right users completed useful work.
Map the feature to the work
Write a short chain: customer goal → required workflow → feature action → completed task. Check it with someone who owns the work and someone who performs it. A feature may be essential to one team and irrelevant to another, so an account-wide percentage that treats every user as eligible can mislead.
For a hypothetical approvals product, an authorised manager may need to review a request and submit a decision. Opening the request is an entry action; submitting a valid decision is closer to task completion. The customer must still confirm whether the decision reached the people and records it was meant to reach.
Define the measure before drawing a chart
For each important action, specify the event, eligible population, period and exclusions. A measurement record can cover:
| Question | Definition to agree |
|---|---|
| Who was expected to act? | The roles and accounts with an eligible task during the period, where task opportunities can be identified. |
| What counts as an attempt? | An action that starts the relevant workflow, excluding test or automated activity where identifiable. |
| What counts as completion? | The recorded end of the intended workflow, checked against the customer's process. |
| When should it happen? | A period long enough for the task to arise, with any known task volume. |
Breadth asks how many of the relevant users or accounts used the feature. Depth asks how often they used it for the intended work. Continuation asks whether use persists across suitable task cycles.
Report these questions separately. If eligible task opportunities are unknown, say so; do not present a feature-use rate as the share of work completed.
Breadth, Depth, and Continuation: Measuring Feature Adoption
- BreadthNumber of eligible users or accounts who used the feature at least once
- DepthFrequency of use per eligible user or account over time
- ContinuationPersistence of use across multiple task cycles
Key Questions for Defining Feature Use Measurement
- Who was expected to act?Roles and accounts with an eligible task during the period, where task opportunities can be identified
- What counts as an attempt?An action that starts the relevant workflow, excluding test or automated activity where identifiable
- What counts as completion?The recorded end of the intended workflow, checked against the customer's process
- When should it happen?A period long enough for the task to arise, with any known task volume
Check the event and the result
Ask the product or data owner what triggers each event and whether role and account identifiers are attached correctly. Look for changed definitions, duplicate records, test users and work completed outside the product. One administrator acting for many colleagues should not be reported as broad individual adoption.
Compare recorded completions with the customer's account of the work. If many people start but few finish, inspect where work stops. If few start, check access and whether eligible work arose. If completion is strong but the customer sees little improvement, revisit the assumed link between the feature and the outcome.
Report each measure with its population, denominator, period and known gaps. The conclusion should say who used the feature for which task, and what still needs confirmation.
Critical Checks for Event and Result Validation
- Event Trigger Accuracy
- Confirmed by product or data owner
- Role & Account IDs Attached?
- Verified for correct attribution
- Test Users Excluded?
- Yes, if identifiable
- Work Completed Outside Product?
- Checked for consistency with internal records
