Flows: Discover User Paths
Flows identifies the most frequent paths users take to or from any event. Use Flows to understand how users sequentially perform events in your product and analyze drop-offs or unexpected behavior.
Use Cases
Flows helps you answer path-based questions:User Journey Discovery
- What did users do immediately after signing up?
- What are the most common sets of actions after opening the app?
- What actions lead up to creating a channel?
- How do users navigate between account creation and first message?
Drop-Off Analysis
- Where do users exit the onboarding flow?
- What paths lead to checkout abandonment?
- What do users do instead of the desired action?
Feature Discovery
- How do users discover key features?
- What leads to feature activation?
- What paths result in the highest engagement?
Quick Start
Let’s build a Flows report to answer:What are the top paths leading Chrome users from Landing Page to Sign Up?
Step 1: Select Anchor Events
Anchor events are key moments you want to explore. Select “Landing Page” and “Sign Up”.
Step 2: Choose Steps Before/After
Decide how many steps to show:- Before the first anchor event - What led users here?
- Between anchor events - What happens in the middle?
- After the last anchor event - What happens next?
Step 3: Add Filters
Filter to Chrome users by adding a “Browser” filter where Browser = “Chrome”.
Step 4: Expand Events (Optional)
Break down any step by a property to see how flows differ:- Expand “Check Out” by “City”
- See how flows vary by geographic location
- Compare paths across different segments
Step 5: Apply Breakdowns
Breakdowns show parallel flows for different segments, helping you compare entire user journeys:- Compare flows for different cohorts
- Understand segment-specific paths
- Identify where paths diverge
Step 6: Analyze Results
Flows offers two powerful visualizations: User Flows (Sankey Diagram)
- Width represents user volume
- Follow paths visually
- Click nodes to highlight top paths
- Hover to see exact numbers
- Shows 50 most common sequences
- Easy to compare exact paths
- Clear conversion percentages
- Step-by-step drop-off rates
Understanding the Sankey Chart
Anchor Events
These are the key events you selected to explore, labeled A, B, C:
- A: Exit Tutorial
- B: Experiment Started
- Shows events performed between them
Intermediate Events
Mixpanel automatically shows the most common events performed before or after your anchor events:
- Regular events (tracked events)
- Custom events (combined events)
- Icon indicates event type
Other Events
By default, the top 3 events at each step are shown. Less common events are grouped as “Other Events”:
Right-click to expand and view additional events.
Drop-Off
Users who didn’t perform any subsequent events in the selected time period:
- No further activity in time range
- Didn’t complete next anchor event
- Indicates exit points
Key Features
Adding More Steps
Expand your analysis dynamically: In the Visualization:- Click ”+” on the right to add steps after events
- Click ”+” on the left to add steps before events
In the Query Builder:
Adjust step counts in bulk:
Multiple Anchor Events
Add multiple anchors to examine flows between specific events:
Between Anchors:
- ”+” left of breakpoint: Events after first anchor
- ”+” right of breakpoint: Events before second anchor
Viewing More Events
Expand “Other Events” to see additional paths:
- Right-click “Other events”
- Select “Add a row of events”
- Or adjust in advanced settings
Conversion Criteria
Counting Method
How user activity is counted:
Uniques
- One entry per user
- First occurrence only
- Best for understanding unique user paths
- Multiple entries per user
- Users can restart the flow
- Best for measuring all path occurrences
- All steps in same session
- Users can restart in new sessions
- Best for same-session workflows
Conversion Window
Maximum time to complete the flow from first step:
- Default: 30 days
- Maximum: 366 days
- Adjust based on user behavior
Hold Property Constant
Require same property value across all steps:
Example:
- Hold “Item Name” constant
- Tracks users interacting with same item
- Filters out users who switch items
You can only hold properties that exist on all anchor events.
Advanced Features
Top Paths View
Switch to Top Paths for a list-based view:
Shows:
- 50 most common event sequences
- Total users reaching each step
- Conversion rates between steps
- Overall completion percentage
Expand Event by Property
Break down a specific event by property:
Methods:
- Click Expand button, select event and property
- Right-click event in chart, select “Expand by property”
- How does purchase type change the flow?
- Do users from different cities follow different paths?
- How does device type affect navigation?
Breakdown by Cohorts
Compare flows across different user segments:
Select cohorts to see color-coded parallel flows:
Example: Compare “Android Users” vs “iPhone Users”
- Different colors for each cohort
- See path differences
- Identify segment-specific behaviors
- Click nodes for detailed breakdowns
Hide Events
Simplify flows by hiding irrelevant events:
Methods:
- Click Hide Events button, select events to hide
- Right-click event in chart, select “Hide”
- Remove noisy tracking events
- Focus on important actions
- Simplify complex flows
Custom Events in Flows
As Anchor Events
Use custom events (groups of events) as start/end points:- Combines multiple events into one
- Simplifies analysis
- Shows either underlying event
As Intermediate Events
Mixpanel automatically shows common custom events:
Criteria:
- Shared with all project users
- Top 50 most-queried custom events
- Non-overlapping definitions
Disable Custom Events:
Show only regular events:
Exclusion Steps
Exclude users who performed certain events: Example:- Explore second most popular path
- Remove users who saw errors
- Focus on successful flows
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Onboarding Exploration
Query:- Anchor: Sign Up Completed
- Show 5 steps after
- Filter: Country = “United States”
- Counting: Uniques
- 40% go to Profile Setup
- 25% go directly to Dashboard
- 20% explore Features page
- 15% drop off
- Action: Test prompting profile setup
Example 2: Purchase Path Analysis
Query:- Anchor A: Product Viewed
- Anchor B: Purchase Completed
- Show 3 steps between
- Breakdown: Device Type
- Hold “Product ID” constant
- Desktop: View → Compare → Add to Cart → Purchase (12%)
- Mobile: View → Add to Cart → Purchase (8%)
- Mobile users skip comparison step
- Action: Simplify mobile comparison feature
Example 3: Feature Discovery
Query:- Anchor: App Opened
- Show 4 steps after
- Breakdown: User Cohort (New vs Returning)
- Visualization: Top Paths
- New users: Tutorial (65%), Skip Tutorial (35%)
- Returning users: Feature A (45%), Dashboard (40%)
- Different onboarding paths
- Action: Personalize based on user type
Example 4: Drop-Off Investigation
Query:- Anchor A: Checkout Started
- Anchor B: Purchase Completed
- Show 2 steps between
- Exclude: Purchase Completed
- Filter: Amount > $100
- 45% drop at payment info entry
- Most go to FAQ page before dropping
- Top question: “Is my data secure?”
- Action: Add security badges to checkout
Tips for Effective Flow Analysis
Start with Key Events: Choose anchor events that represent important milestones or questions you want to answer.
Use Both Views: Sankey diagrams show overall patterns; Top Paths shows specific sequences. Use both for complete understanding.
Hide Noise: Hide irrelevant events (like tracking pings) to focus on meaningful user actions.
Compare Segments: Always break down by key segments (device, cohort, region) to find segment-specific insights.
Investigate Drop-Offs: Large drop-off percentages indicate friction. Click to view those users and understand why they left.
Hold Properties Constant: When tracking product-specific journeys, hold Product ID constant to avoid mixing different product flows.