Workflow catalogue template
A workflow catalogue is a working list of the important behaviours a product team wants to understand, measure, and maintain.
Use it when measurement is becoming hard to explain, when teams are measuring screens instead of behaviour, or when events and metrics need a clearer foundation.
Template
Workflow name:
[Plain-language verb phrase]
User intent:
[What the user is trying to achieve]
Product area:
[Where this workflow sits in the product]
Entry point:
[Where the workflow starts]
Completion point:
[What counts as successful completion]
Workflow steps:
1. [Meaningful step]
2. [Meaningful step]
3. [Meaningful step]
Possible exits or failure points:
- [Where users may pause, abandon, or fail]
- [Where users may pause, abandon, or fail]
Related events:
- [event.name]
- [event.name]
Related metrics:
- [Metric name]
- [Metric name]
Primary product question:
[What the team needs to understand]
Decision supported:
[What this measurement may help the team decide]
Owner:
[Person, role, or team]
Review status:
[Draft / active / needs review / retired]
Notes:
[Any useful context, assumptions, or known gaps]
Example: account registration
Workflow name:
Register for an account
User intent:
Create an account so I can access the product.
Product area:
Account access
Entry point:
User starts account creation.
Completion point:
User accesses the product for the first time.
Workflow steps:
1. View registration form
2. Enter details
3. Submit form
4. Verify email
5. Access product
Possible exits or failure points:
- User views the form but does not enter details
- User encounters a validation error
- User submits the form but does not verify email
- User verifies email but does not access the product
Related events:
- registration.form_viewed
- registration.form_submitted
- registration.form_error_shown
- registration.email_verified
- registration.completed
Related metrics:
- Form submission rate
- Form error rate
- Email verification rate
- Registration completion rate
- Time to complete registration
Primary product question:
Are users able to create an account and access the product without unnecessary friction?
Decision supported:
Where should we improve the registration experience?
Owner:
Account access product team
Review status:
Active
Notes:
Completion is defined as first product access, not form submission.
When to use it
Use a workflow catalogue when teams need to:
- agree which workflows matter
- define entry, exit, and completion points
- identify meaningful steps
- connect workflows to events and metrics
- spot measurement gaps
- review ownership and maintenance
- avoid measuring screens or features in isolation
Start with the most important workflows. Do not catalogue everything before using it.
How to maintain it
Review a workflow when:
- a step is added, removed, or reordered
- a new entry point is introduced
- the completion point changes
- related events are added, changed, or retired
- related metrics are reused in a new context
- confidence in the measurement drops
The catalogue should not become a static inventory. It should help the team keep measurement aligned with the current product experience.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes include naming workflows too broadly, listing screens instead of behaviour, ignoring exits, linking events without explaining the step, and creating a catalogue that nobody owns.
If the catalogue becomes too large to maintain, reduce it to the workflows that support important decisions.
Key takeaway
Use the workflow catalogue to make behaviour explicit before the team designs events, metrics, or dashboards.