Attribution · Discipline 1 of 4
Can we trust what we observe?
What happened, and how reliable is the evidence? Tracking loss, identity, consent, event definitions, funnel grain, and attribution as descriptive evidence. Everything downstream inherits the flaws you accept here.
The problem in one chart
Same quarter, same spend, same conversions. On the left, cost per acquisition as reported by last-touch. On the right, as measured against a holdout. Where the lines cross is where budget moves the wrong way.
Lessons
Planned
The shape of this discipline, published as a roadmap. These are titles and scope, not finished work. They are here so you can see where this is going, not to suggest it has arrived.
The Same Click, Different Funnels
One ad click means something different in a self-serve checkout than in a sales-qualified pipeline. Why the funnel grain you choose determines what you can measure.
What Tracking Loss Actually Costs You
Consent, identity resolution, and cross-device loss are not one problem. Separating random loss from systematic loss, and why only one of them threatens validity.
Defining Events That Survive Contact With Operations
A lead, an activation, and a qualified opportunity are organizational agreements before they are data. What happens to measurement when the definition drifts.
Reading Platform Discrepancies Without Losing Your Mind
Two systems report different numbers for the same campaign. A method for finding which of the four usual causes is responsible.