Lifecycle Chart

A lifecycle chart is a view that, each period, splits users into lifecycle states — new, active (retained), resurrected and churned — so the net growth of the user base is seen.

A lifecycle chart answers where the user base's apparent growth comes from; a flat 'active users' number can hide a churning engine that each month wins many and loses many. By breaking each period into new, retained, resurrected and churned, this chart shows the balance of inflow and outflow: if churned (usually drawn below the zero line) matches new plus resurrected, the base stalls despite heavy acquisition. This reveals the 'leaky bucket': pouring more water into a bottomless bucket makes no growth. A common trap is reading only the total-active line without this split; that line can be flat while a dangerous churn rate hides beneath it. The basis of all four states is a clear definition of 'active' and the dormancy threshold; without those, the state boundaries become slippery.