View the full case study on Contra →

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The Challenge

Complex tasks with no room for error are prime candidates for automation. When GrowthRunner reached out to automate their entire analytics process, I jumped at the chance to showcase what bespoke tools can do. GrowthRunner, the expert analytics tracking agency founded by Nitesh Sharoff, specializes in advanced analytics and tracking for iconic brands including Wagamama and Net-a-Porter. Their core business revolves around auditing analytics setups - integral to their lead generation, day-to-day implementations, and billable hours. These audits require specialists to meticulously comb through client sites, reviewing tracking events, checking each payload and implementation. This process is:
  • Error-prone and monotonous
  • Highly specialized with numerous edge cases
  • Critical to their business model (a misimplementation can cost clients hundreds of thousands)
  • Time-consuming, limiting scalability

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The Solution

I partnered with GrowthRunner to create a custom DevTools extension that reduced their auditing and implementation time by 90%, automating monotonous tasks and improving overall efficiency. The automation addressed the pain point of lengthy manual auditing by:
  • Leveraging Chrome’s Recording API to capture user journeys
  • Building a dataLayer listener that plays back recorded actions
  • Simulating typical user journeys, clicks, and navigation
  • Capturing screenshots and timestamps for documentation
  • Matching actual events against expected events to provide analytics health snapshots

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Technical Implementation

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Tech Stack

  • Framework: Plasmo.com - A JavaScript framework for building web extensions
  • UI: React with Tailwind CSS for the DevTools interface
  • Storage: IndexedDB for images and video storage
  • Core APIs: Chrome DevTools API, Chrome Recording API

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Key Technical Challenges

The main technical challenges involved:
  1. DataLayer Tracking: Monitoring changes to the data layer before, during, and after code execution in the DevTools window
  2. Cross-Context Communication: Heavy use of main world JavaScript injection to enable communication between the client window and the isolated world of Chrome extension development
  3. Chrome Recording API Integration: Complex implementation to capture and replay user actions accurately

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Key Features

  • Bespoke DevTools Extension: Custom-built for GrowthRunner’s specific workflow
  • Analytics DataLayer Observer: Tracks and categorizes all events automatically
  • User Action Tracking: Captures clicks, text inputs, and user interactions
  • Chrome Recording API Extension: Audits and plays back actions for testing
  • Automated Reporting: Generates snapshots with screenshots and timestamps

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Timeline

  • MVP Delivery: 10 days
  • Total Project Timeline: 14 days including sales and iterations
  • Time to Production: 2 weeks

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Results & Impact

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Efficiency Gains

  • 90% reduction in auditing time
  • Tasks reduced from multiple hours to minutes
  • Team capacity increased from 1 audit per day to 10 audits per day per team member
  • 10x increase in throughput capacity

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Business Impact

  • Freed up expert team members for high-value strategic work
  • Reduced error rates in analytics implementations
  • Accelerated pitch-to-delivery cycle
  • Enabled scaling without proportional headcount increase

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Lessons Learned

This project demonstrated that:
  • Bespoke automation tools can transform specialized workflows
  • Even complex, edge-case-heavy processes can be automated effectively
  • Two weeks of development can deliver months of time savings
  • Custom DevTools extensions are powerful for technical service businesses

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Technologies Used

Plasmo

Web extension framework

React

DevTools UI

Chrome APIs

Recording & DevTools

IndexedDB

Local storage

Tailwind

UI styling

TypeScript

Type safety