When to use it
Use before escalating a health-score change or treating an activity metric as evidence of value.
Work the questions in order
- Record exactly what changed and how the signal was generated.
- Write down at least one alternative explanation and seek corroborating customer context.
- Choose the next useful action, assign an owner, and record what would change your assessment.
Your working notes
Use these prompts in your own document, or print this page and write in the spaces.
Observed signal
What changed? Include the source, date, and measurement window.
How it is produced
Whose actions count? Could automation, internal access, missing data, or a changed definition affect it?
Initial hypothesis
What might it mean for the customer? Keep this separate from fact.
Alternative explanation
What else could produce the same signal?
Corroborating evidence
What does the customer say? What other evidence agrees or conflicts?
Assessment and uncertainty
What do you currently believe, and what is still unknown?
Action, owner, review
What happens next, who owns it, and when will the assessment be revisited?
See a fictional worked example
Fictional example: customer logins decline, but an automated report still supports a weekly planning meeting. Confirm that the intended recipients receive and use the report before deciding whether the account is disengaged.