False cliffs in conversion paths
A missing step event can invent a drop-off the product never caused.
Product meetings escalate when a path chart shows a steep cliff between adjacent steps. Sometimes the cliff is real. Often the second step never fired after a permission prompt, or only fired on one platform.
Before rewriting onboarding, walk the path on devices your users hold and watch the live stream. Note every silent miss. Ask whether the step is client-only, server-confirmed, or both.
Identity resets between web and app are another quiet culprit. Users who continue on a second device look like new entrants who abandoned mid-path.
A Conversion Path Trace stays narrow on purpose: one path, deep QA, a script you can rerun after every release.