Maintain Amplitude Event Definitions
Document what each core event means, when it fires and who owns it. A definition should let another analyst distinguish a successful outcome from an attempt without reverse-engineering the application.
Before you start: Have the tracking plan, representative payloads and a list of important consuming charts. Include engineering ownership for changes.
Worked example: Invite Sent should specify whether it means request accepted, email queued or delivery confirmed. Those stages answer different product and reliability questions.
Step-by-step guide
Prioritize decision-critical events
Start with activation, conversion and retention inputs. A smaller reliable core is more useful than a comprehensive list without ownership.
Write the trigger contract
Describe the exact state that emits the event, its actor and success condition. Avoid using only a human-friendly display name.
Define contextual fields
Record required identifiers, allowed outcomes and meaningful properties. Distinguish event context from user traits.
Verify real payloads
Inspect normal, failed and repeated actions. Check that engineering implementation matches the written contract across platforms.
Review downstream impact
Find charts and cohorts that depend on the event before changing its meaning. Plan a migration when semantics differ.
Publish ownership and history
Record the owner, validation date and notable changes. Make the current definition easy to find from the tracking plan.
Common mistakes
Display label becomes definition
A readable name still needs a trigger contract.
Silent semantic changes
Historical trends can become incompatible.
No failure example
Successful samples may hide ambiguous outcomes.
Tips
Include one valid and one invalid payload example.
Review definitions during feature changes.
Keep consumer charts linked from critical definitions.
Sources and verification
Based on product documentation checked on 2026-10-24. This is a documentation-based guide, not a hands-on benchmark. Features and availability can change.