Documentation/Labs/ApplicationUsageAnalytics - Revision history

Lasso: Updated link based on request from Revenera

2020-12-04T20:28:17Z

Updated link based on request from Revenera

Halazar: added non-blocking

2017-03-10T17:16:04Z

added non-blocking

Lasso: Created page with "=Requirements= * We would need to know: Slicer application downloads extension downloads Slicer application startups Slicer module usage (how many times user switc..."

2017-03-10T17:04:10Z

Created page with "=Requirements= * We would need to know: ** Slicer application downloads ** extension downloads ** Slicer application startups ** Slicer module usage (how many times user switc..."

New page

=Requirements=
* We would need to know:
** Slicer application downloads
** extension downloads
** Slicer application startups
** Slicer module usage (how many times user switched to a module and % of time used)
* Possibility of hosting our own server would be preferred (to avoid blocked in certain countries, ensuring long-term access to our data, etc.)
* User should be notified and have the option to opt out
* It should not be tightly integrated into Slicer (should be an optional module that can be excluded from the build)
* It should be possible to customize it for private builds of Slicer (so that it can use a different backend)

=Design=
* Slicer-side:
** add a few Qt events that a Python module can observe (application startup, module switch, crash, etc)
** data caching (so that data can be uploaded later, when there is network connection)
** data accumulation (report metrics such as total hours of Slicer and individual modules used instead of reporting each module switch)
** data uploading: this is the only server-specific component
** Probably it would be a Python module, as Python SDK is available for almost all services
* Server: there are many options, none of them are perfect, see below

=Server options=
* Hosted services: easier to get started, no need for experts to maintain/update; may be locked out from certain countries, limited customization
** Google Universal Analytics: The largest and most sophisticated solution for traffic analysis that you can get for free. APIs are provided for desktop app tracking, but built-in features are mostly geared towards website and e-commerce tracking - and not optimal for desktop applications (where you would want to send aggregate metrics, accumulate and upload data in batches, etc. - [https://www.revulytics.com/blog/tracking-desktop-applications-with-google-analytics-what-you-should-know see comparison to Revulytics] for a list of limitations).
** Many other similar services, for a small monthly fee (typically below $100), see https://github.com/onurakpolat/awesome-analytics
** [https://www.revulytics.com/ Revulytics]: Specialized desktop app usage tracker. It is supported on win/mac/linux, could do everything what we need very nicely, but it's not open (you have to link a binary library into your application).
* Self-hosted open-source systems: free, we can control our destiny, chance of being locked out from countries can be minimized; significant amount of work to set up and maintain
** https://piwik.org/
** http://www.openwebanalytics.com/

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 =Server options=
 * Hosted services: easier to get started, no need for experts to maintain/update; may be locked out from certain countries, limited customization
-** Google Universal Analytics: The largest and most sophisticated solution for traffic analysis that you can get for free. APIs are provided for desktop app tracking, but built-in features are mostly geared towards website and e-commerce tracking - and not optimal for desktop applications (where you would want to send aggregate metrics, accumulate and upload data in batches, etc. - [https://www.revulytics.com/blog/tracking-desktop-applications-with-google-analytics-what-you-should-know see comparison to Revulytics] for a list of limitations).
+** Google Universal Analytics: The largest and most sophisticated solution for traffic analysis that you can get for free. APIs are provided for desktop app tracking, but built-in features are mostly geared towards website and e-commerce tracking - and not optimal for desktop applications (where you would want to send aggregate metrics, accumulate and upload data in batches, etc. - [https://www.revenera.com/blog/software-monetization/tracking-desktop-applications-with-google-analytics-what-you-should-know/ see comparison to Revenera] for a list of limitations).
 ** Many other similar services, for a small monthly fee (typically below $100), see https://github.com/onurakpolat/awesome-analytics
-** [https://www.revulytics.com/ Revulytics]: Specialized desktop app usage tracker. It is supported on win/mac/linux, could do everything what we need very nicely, but it's not open (you have to link a binary library into your application).
+** [https://www.revenera.com/ Revenera]: Specialized desktop app usage tracker. It is supported on win/mac/linux, could do everything what we need very nicely, but it's not open (you have to link a binary library into your application).
 * Self-hosted open-source systems: free, we can control our destiny, chance of being locked out from countries can be minimized; significant amount of work to set up and maintain
 ** https://piwik.org/
 ** http://www.openwebanalytics.com/

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ** data uploading: this is the only server-specific component
 ** Probably it would be a Python module, as Python SDK is available for almost all services
 * Server: there are many options, none of them are perfect, see below

Documentation/Labs/ApplicationUsageAnalytics - Revision history

Lasso: Updated link based on request from Revenera

Halazar: added non-blocking

Lasso: Created page with "=Requirements= * We would need to know: ** Slicer application downloads ** extension downloads ** Slicer application startups ** Slicer module usage (how many times user switc..."

Lasso: Created page with "=Requirements= * We would need to know: Slicer application downloads extension downloads Slicer application startups Slicer module usage (how many times user switc..."