Design
Cohort paths versus session paths
Session paths answer: what happened in one sitting? Cohort paths answer: what happened for people who started in the same week? Mixing the two without labeling invents Conversion Path Analytics fiction.
Use sessions when decisions are instant
Impulse purchases, password resets, and in-app upgrades often resolve inside a visit. Session paths catch friction that cohort stitching would smear across days.
Use cohorts when research spans days
High-consideration B2B tools and education enrollments need multi-day windows. Otherwise every overnight pause looks like failure. Document the window on every slide.
Never average them silently
If leadership asks for “the path,” show both views or explain why only one applies. Path Signal Lab’s capstone rejects decks that blur the unit of analysis.