Event Schema Examples for SaaS Telemetry

Emit at the outcome

Record the event only when the service knows the final status, duration, and business identifier.

Name the grain

One row per request, job, payment attempt, or durable milestone prevents accidental double counting.

Bound cardinality and privacy

Prefer route templates and stable IDs. Exclude raw URLs, emails, prompts, payloads, credentials, and stack traces.

Product lifecycleuser_signed_up

Which signup cohorts activate and retain?

A durable account-entry event with acquisition and plan context. Keep identity pseudonymous and capture marketing attribution only after privacy review.

Grain: One accepted signup per user and account.
Owner: Identity or onboarding service
Emit when: After the account and first user are committed successfully.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
user_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal user identifier.
plan	string	yes	non-sensitive	Plan selected at signup.
acquisition_channel	string	no	review	Low-cardinality, consent-compatible acquisition source.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:03:00Z",
  "event_id": "evt_signup_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "user_id": "user_91ac",
  "plan": "growth",
  "acquisition_channel": "organic"
}

Use the contract:Activation funnel SQL Schema design guide

Product analyticsproduct_milestone_completed

Which accounts reach the durable moments that define activation?

A generic milestone envelope for stable product outcomes such as connecting a source, running a first query, or publishing a dashboard.

Grain: One completed milestone per actor, account, and occurrence.
Owner: Product service that commits the milestone
Emit when: Only after the underlying product state has been committed.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
user_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal actor identifier.
milestone_name	string	yes	non-sensitive	Versioned, low-cardinality milestone name.
feature	string	yes	non-sensitive	Product surface that owns the milestone.
status	string	yes	non-sensitive	Final success or error outcome.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:12:19Z",
  "event_id": "evt_milestone_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "user_id": "user_91ac",
  "milestone_name": "dashboard_published",
  "feature": "dashboards",
  "status": "success"
}

Use the contract:Funnel dashboard Funnel analysis SQL

API reliabilityapi_request_completed

Where do errors and slow requests affect customers?

A terminal request event with route templates instead of raw URLs, bounded error categories, and latency measured at the service boundary.

Grain: One completed API request.
Owner: HTTP middleware at request completion
Emit when: After the final response status and latency are known.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
request_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Correlation identifier; do not expose auth material.
route	string	yes	non-sensitive	Low-cardinality route template such as /v1/query/:id.
method	string	yes	non-sensitive	HTTP method.
status_code	number	yes	non-sensitive	Final HTTP response status.
latency_ms	number	yes	non-sensitive	End-to-end duration in milliseconds.
error_type	string	no	non-sensitive	Bounded failure category; omit stack traces and payloads.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:15:06Z",
  "event_id": "evt_api_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "request_id": "req_2f71",
  "route": "/v1/query/:id",
  "method": "POST",
  "status_code": 200,
  "latency_ms": 184
}

Use the contract:API reliability dashboard API latency SQL

AI operationsllm_request_completed

What does each successful AI workflow cost and how well does it perform?

A terminal model-call event with model, tokens, latency, allocation cost, and tool outcome—without prompts or generated content.

Grain: One completed model-provider request.
Owner: Shared model gateway or provider adapter
Emit when: After token usage, outcome, and provider response are final.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
workflow	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable product workflow using the model.
model	string	yes	non-sensitive	Provider model identifier.
input_tokens	number	yes	non-sensitive	Provider-reported input tokens.
output_tokens	number	yes	non-sensitive	Provider-reported output tokens.
cost_usd	number	no	non-sensitive	Estimated allocation cost, reconciled separately.
status	string	yes	non-sensitive	Final provider or workflow outcome.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:18:44Z",
  "event_id": "evt_llm_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "workflow": "query_explanation",
  "model": "model_family_a",
  "input_tokens": 820,
  "output_tokens": 244,
  "cost_usd": 0.0124,
  "status": "success"
}

Use the contract:LLM economics dashboard LLM cost SQL

Async reliabilitybackground_job_completed

Which jobs fail, retry, wait, or run slowly?

A terminal job event that records the final outcome and attempt count once, avoiding the overcounting caused by one row per retry.

Grain: One terminal outcome per logical job.
Owner: Worker after success or permanent failure
Emit when: After the job succeeds or exhausts its retry policy.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
job_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable logical job identifier.
job_name	string	yes	non-sensitive	Low-cardinality job type.
queue_name	string	yes	non-sensitive	Queue that executed the job.
attempt_count	number	yes	non-sensitive	Total attempts including the terminal attempt.
queue_wait_ms	number	yes	non-sensitive	Time from enqueue to first execution.
duration_ms	number	yes	non-sensitive	Terminal attempt duration.
status	string	yes	non-sensitive	Success or permanent error.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:22:02Z",
  "event_id": "evt_job_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "job_id": "job_31be",
  "job_name": "workspace_export",
  "queue_name": "exports",
  "attempt_count": 2,
  "queue_wait_ms": 340,
  "duration_ms": 8420,
  "status": "success"
}

Use the contract:Job dashboard Queue SQL

Revenue operationsinvoice_payment_completed

Which billed amounts succeed, fail, or recover?

A payment outcome event that keeps provider identifiers pseudonymous and separates billed amount from recurring-revenue definitions.

Grain: One terminal payment attempt.
Owner: Billing webhook handler after idempotent processing
Emit when: After the provider event is verified and persisted.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
invoice_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Internal or hashed provider invoice identifier.
amount_usd	number	yes	non-sensitive	Normalized amount with currency rules documented.
attempt_count	number	yes	non-sensitive	Payment attempt sequence number.
status	string	yes	non-sensitive	Paid, failed, or recovered outcome.
failure_category	string	no	review	Coarse provider-safe category, never card or bank details.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:24:51Z",
  "event_id": "evt_payment_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "invoice_id": "invoice_67ad",
  "amount_usd": 2400,
  "attempt_count": 1,
  "status": "paid"
}

Use the contract:Payment recovery SQL Revenue test guide

Integration reliabilitywebhook_delivery_completed

Which destinations fail permanently or recover after retries?

A terminal delivery event with destination type and status but no customer URL, authorization header, or payload.

Grain: One terminal outcome per logical webhook delivery.
Owner: Webhook delivery worker
Emit when: After success or permanent retry exhaustion.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
delivery_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable logical delivery identifier.
destination_type	string	yes	non-sensitive	Bounded integration category, not a destination URL.
attempt_count	number	yes	non-sensitive	Attempts through the terminal outcome.
status_code	number	no	non-sensitive	Final HTTP status when a response exists.
status	string	yes	non-sensitive	Delivered or permanently failed.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:29:08Z",
  "event_id": "evt_webhook_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "delivery_id": "delivery_09cc",
  "destination_type": "slack",
  "attempt_count": 1,
  "status_code": 200,
  "status": "delivered"
}

Use the contract:Webhook reliability SQL Webhook troubleshooting

Incident responseincident_impact_observed

Which accounts and workflows were affected during an incident?

A bounded impact observation that connects a declared incident to a customer workflow without copying request payloads into the incident record.

Grain: One affected operation associated with a declared incident.
Owner: Affected service or incident enrichment pipeline
Emit when: When an operation falls inside a confirmed impact rule.

Field	Type	Required	Privacy	Meaning
timestamp_utc	timestamp	yes	non-sensitive	UTC time at the outcome boundary.
event_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable unique identifier used for deduplication.
account_id	string	yes	pseudonymous	Stable internal account identifier, never an email or name.
release	string	yes	non-sensitive	Application or service version that emitted the event.
incident_id	string	yes	non-sensitive	Stable declared incident identifier.
service	string	yes	non-sensitive	Affected service.
workflow	string	yes	non-sensitive	Affected customer workflow.
region	string	yes	non-sensitive	Coarse region for impact grouping.
impact_type	string	yes	non-sensitive	Low-cardinality symptom such as timeout or elevated latency.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-28T14:31:40Z",
  "event_id": "evt_impact_01",
  "account_id": "acct_8f31",
  "release": "2026.07.2",
  "incident_id": "inc_checkout_latency",
  "service": "checkout",
  "workflow": "subscription_upgrade",
  "region": "north_america",
  "impact_type": "upstream_timeout"
}

Use the contract:Incident impact dashboard Incident response SQL

Treat privacy labels as a review queue

“Pseudonymous” identifiers can still be personal data when they relate to a person. “Review” fields can expose acquisition or provider context. Apply your own retention, access, consent, deletion, residency, and contractual requirements before production instrumentation.

Query the sample database Implementation templates

Event schema examples built around outcomes

Emit at the outcome

Name the grain

Bound cardinality and privacy

Which signup cohorts activate and retain?

Which accounts reach the durable moments that define activation?

Where do errors and slow requests affect customers?

What does each successful AI workflow cost and how well does it perform?

Which jobs fail, retry, wait, or run slowly?

Which billed amounts succeed, fail, or recover?

Which destinations fail permanently or recover after retries?

Which accounts and workflows were affected during an incident?

Treat privacy labels as a review queue