Agree on what happened before deciding how to visualize it
Agree what an event means and how it is triggered before building a chart around it. A polished dashboard cannot reconcile inconsistent definitions after the fact.
An event dictionary should explain the trigger, qualifying conditions, exclusions and responsible system. Without those definitions, an attractive dashboard can place incompatible observations beside each other and imply a coherent funnel.
A worked example
A hypothetical report labels both a download and an accepted contact request as generate_lead. Its total cannot answer how many people requested help. Separate event purposes before choosing chart colors or a headline conversion number.
How to apply it
- Define the real-world behavior each event is intended to represent.
- Document failure, duplicate and test conditions for the trigger.
- Assign an owner to approve definition changes and preserve a version history.
What the result can establish
Validate events using controlled journeys and source records. A field name is not proof of its behavior. Dashboard design becomes easier once the team can explain what each number includes and what it cannot establish.
Reference: Google Analytics: recommended events.
Supporting documentation
Google Analytics: recommended eventsW3C WAI: validating formsGoogle Analytics: attribution overview