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Product analytics SQL recipe

Measure time to activation

Calculate the distribution of elapsed time between signup and a user's first meaningful product action.

Advancedproduct_eventsReviewed 2026-07-27Tested with Apache DataFusion 45.2.0

Reviewed by the Telemetry product team on . We checked the SQL syntax, required event fields, sample results, and limits on using the query. Who reviews this page

Question answered

How long does it take new users to reach the first meaningful action?

Conversion rate counts users who activated. Time to activation shows how long those users took, so you can choose an onboarding observation window that fits their behavior.

Event schema

Fields the query expects

FieldTypeWhy it exists
timestamp_utcTimestampEvent time.
user_idUtf8Stable user identifier.
event_nameUtf8Signup or activation milestone.
DataFusion SQL

Copy the query

sql
WITH milestones AS (
  SELECT
    user_id,
    MIN(CASE
      WHEN event_name = 'signup_completed' THEN timestamp_utc
    END) AS signed_up_at,
    MIN(CASE
      WHEN event_name = 'first_meaningful_action_completed' THEN timestamp_utc
    END) AS activated_at
  FROM product_events
  WHERE timestamp_utc >= now() - INTERVAL '90 days'
  GROUP BY user_id
)
SELECT
  CASE
    WHEN activated_at - signed_up_at < INTERVAL '10 minutes' THEN 'under 10m'
    WHEN activated_at - signed_up_at < INTERVAL '1 hour' THEN '10m–1h'
    WHEN activated_at - signed_up_at < INTERVAL '1 day' THEN '1h–1d'
    WHEN activated_at - signed_up_at < INTERVAL '7 days' THEN '1d–7d'
    ELSE '7d+'
  END AS activation_window,
  COUNT(*) AS users
FROM milestones
WHERE signed_up_at IS NOT NULL
  AND activated_at >= signed_up_at
GROUP BY activation_window
ORDER BY users DESC;

This read-only query is planned and executed against an empty typed table with Apache DataFusion 45.2.0. We review the synthetic sample output separately. Check field types, thresholds, and counting rules against your own data. Read the testing methodology.

Query result

Activated users by time-to-value window

Most users in this sample reach the activation milestone within one day. Some take several days.

activation_windowusers
under 10m182
10m–1h264
1h–1d318
1d–7d146
7d+38

Synthetic example output. Run the query against your own event schema and thresholds before using it for operational decisions.

Activated users by time-to-value window: static chart of synthetic users values from the Measure time to activation example result
Download this SVG chart of the sample results for an article, runbook, or design review. Please credit Telemetry.

Reproduce the example

Download the sample data

The JSON bundle includes the event schema with field types, illustrative input rows, exact SQL, expected output, review notes, and engine version. The CSV contains the displayed result.

How the SQL works

  1. 1MIN over conditional CASE expressions finds each user's first signup and activation timestamp.
  2. 2The CASE expression converts elapsed time into operationally readable buckets.
  3. 3Users who never activate are excluded from this distribution and belong in the funnel conversion view.

Edge cases to check

  • Imported or invited users may have a different starting event.
  • Activation before signup usually indicates identity merging or historical backfill.
  • Choose buckets that reflect the product's natural usage cycle.

Recommended dashboard

  • Distribution: users by activation window
  • Stat: median time to activation
  • Table: non-activated signups by age

Alert guidance

Use the distribution for product review; alert only when instrumentation stops or activation volume collapses.

Read alert setup

Set up the events this query needs

Related instrumentation and guides

Continue the analysis

Run it on your events

Create a table, adapt the fields, and save the result

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