From a task perspective "clicks" are users' "moves" that compose users' "behaviors" according to their objectives.
This semantic improvement is achieved by getting knowledge about users objectives. When analyzing Web logs, this could be achieved by combining at least two strategies:
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verifying paths users have crossed.
- identifying products they obtained interacting with the web site.
For example, by reading log data it is possible to verify that a user got access to a register form and some minutes later the system delivered him/her a confirmation message. Based on these "task traces" it is logic to infer that user wanted to register him/herself.
The same assumption is valid for other types of transactions, with a starting and ending points clearly observable and distinguishable, like to buy a product, to pay bills, to query for an account balance, etc.
Once inferring users' objectives, it is easy to automatically reconstruct the paths they got through the web site. This historic of click paths will reveal how users behave face to two types of interrelated sub tasks:
- to get access to a transactional task core on the web site;
- to complete the corresponding transaction.
UseMonitor classify and compute behaviors according to the user objectiveness in these two sub tasks. In the getting access sub tasks the classes of users' behaviors classes are:
- direct access, access with backs, access with redirecting and access with deviation;
The classes of users' behaviors In the transaction completing task are:
- immediate success, success with deviation, success with help and success with error;
The rate and the duration of behaviors computed into above categories will indicate how efficient users are when interacting with web sites.
UseMonitor will show you how efficient user are interacting with different web interfaces supporting a same transactional task.
UseMonitor can also show you pages that are affecting user behaviors, specifically causing unproductive move like backs, redirecting, deviations, errors or promoting help searching during the tasks.
Moreover, UseMonitor presents a complete and detailed report showing each users' moves and behaviors.
System Functioning
UseMonitor is aimed at supplying ergonomic experts and webmasters with information about the user efficiency on transactional tasks completed on web sites supporting B2C, B2B, including ERP, home banking, etc. Transactional tasks are the ones in which users complete transactions with a concrete issue, like to fill in a form to submit for a buying request.
UseMonitor Web System is a web analyzer that generates, registers and treats its own log data. It means that this system doesn't process a log file generated by an web server, like Apache for example. The log data it treats is generated by means of html scripts (lines of code) that you insert into every page of your web site that is concerned with the task you whish to monitor.
Html scripts and Interface Models
You'll insert html scripts into every web page taking part of the Interface Model supporting your transactional task. This kind of task is composed by two interrelated subtasks : to get access to the transactional core of the site and to complete the transaction.
The html script will be specific to every page taking part of the transactional core of the task. It means that you'll be asked to paste a different html script into the body tag of each web page you want to monitor.
The html script concerning the access pages will be generic. You'll insert the same lines of html code on every page you think yours users will employ to get access to the transactional core of the task.
Html scripts and Monitoring Activities
The system will organize the monitoring results according periods of time that you'll define as "monitoring activities". Typically, you'll want to define such an activity to mark changes in the task context or in the user interface supporting the task. By this way you'll be able to compare user efficiency measures before and after changes...
Site preparing
You'll entry task information and UseMonitor will generate scripts according to a specific interface model and a particular monitoring activity.
You'll then copy the scripts generated by UseMonitor and paste them on the web pages of your site according their association with access and transactional sub tasks.
The scripts will start to run immediately, sending log data to UseMonitor database. The system will process these data once a day and store the results concerning your users' efficiency on transactional tasks in a report database.
You'll them get access to our UseMonitor account to view measures and information according two dimensions:
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the get access and to complete a transaction subtasks;
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a period of time including one or several monitoring; activities.