When a developer tool ships a new panel, command, or integration, teams often celebrate the first spike in unique users. That spike can be real—and still mislead. Adoption that never deepens into repeat use inside the workspace is closer to curiosity than reliance.
Start by pairing reach with depth. For each feature, ask how many people who touched it once returned within a normal work week, and whether they used it in the middle of a job they already do, or only during a guided tour. Workspace activity that clusters around onboarding and then vanishes is a different story from quiet, steady use by a smaller cohort.
Next, separate ceremonial clicks from consequential ones. A settings toggle that is opened and closed without a save is not the same signal as a command that produces an artifact another teammate later opens. Tagging events by consequence—not only by screen—keeps utilization conversations honest.
Finally, bring support tickets and internal chat themes into the same week’s review. If practitioners ask how to accomplish a task your feature already covers, you may have a discoverability problem rather than a demand problem. Feature utilization assessment is as much about reading those mismatches as it is about charting curves.