Identifying the first valuable action in an app

A first valuable action is an early completed action or outcome that gives a new user a recognisable benefit from the app. To find a candidate, look at what people came to accomplish and check how it relates to later useful behaviour. First open, account creation and tutorial completion may be necessary steps, but none automatically shows that a person received value.

Name the benefit before the event

Finish this sentence in the user's terms: “After this, the person can now…” If the answer describes only what the business gained, look further along the journey. The outcome should also be observable without guessing intent.

In a hypothetical note-taking app, opening the editor is a start; saving a note that the person can find again is a stronger candidate. In an appointment app, seeing available times may itself be useful, while a confirmed booking may be the first completed outcome for someone trying to make an appointment. Choose according to the job and audience rather than assuming a universal event name.

Separate three kinds of observation:

The earlier events help diagnose friction; the value candidate helps assess whether users achieve the app's purpose.

User Journey: Entry vs. Value Candidate

Check the candidate

A candidate should be reachable early enough to guide improvement and substantial enough to represent a benefit. Ask:

These are checks, not a scoring system. An app serving distinct jobs may need different first-value definitions for different eligible audiences.

Define the completed state

Write a specification that another person could implement and audit: the event name, completed state, eligible users, observation window and duplicate rule. For a saved note, distinguish a successful save from a tap on “Save” that fails. If a task crosses devices or sessions, specify how identity and time are handled.

Google Analytics for Firebase automatically collects some events. Its SDK defines recommended events common across app types, with implementation details available in the documentation. Apps can also log additional event types.

A name appearing in a report does not prove it marks the right moment. Check the event against the completed state in supported app versions.

Compare it with later behaviour

Compare later useful behaviour among new users who did and did not reach the candidate, over a window suited to the product. This can show an association, but people who complete the early action may differ in other ways. The comparison does not establish that the action caused later use.

If people trigger the candidate but cannot use the result, the event may be too shallow or the product may have another problem. If satisfied users routinely reach value without triggering it, the definition may exclude a valid route. Revise the action and eligibility rules, and keep the old and new definitions distinct in reporting.

Key Metrics for First Valuable Action Analysis