Three points to take away
- 01
Check instrumentation failures before business causes.
- 02
Test one candidate explanation at a time.
- 03
Save both conclusions and counter-evidence.
Investigation order
Check analytics, attribution, and payment callbacks first, then compare device, region, channel, and funnel stage. A model may rank clues but cannot repair missing data.
Create a testable finding
Write each diagnosis as observation, possible cause, required evidence, and reversible action. Do not turn correlation into causation.
Verification checklist before action
Use historical incidents with known causes to check ranking, omissions, and false attribution.
Run a bounded trial with non-sensitive samples and retain successes, failures, and human corrections.
Before wider use, name an owner, data boundary, stop condition, and review date.