Field notes
Running a taxonomy workshop with product and engineering
Invite people who can decide: a product owner, an engineer who will implement tracking, and someone who reads the reports weekly. Eight people is plenty; more than that turns into spectators.
Start from a single journey, drawn on a shared board. For each step, ask what decision the business needs to make and which observable action would inform it. Only then invent an event name.
Park debates about tool choice. The workshop is about vocabulary and ownership. Tool configuration can wait until names and properties are agreed.
End by assigning an owner for each event family and listing questions that need research after the session. Send the draft catalogue within two days while memory is fresh.
If the room cannot agree on a name within a few minutes, pick a provisional label and mark it for follow-up rather than burning the remaining hour.