Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2005/06 - Gruppe G7 - Aufgabe 3

Topic

Webserver Logfile Visualization

Area of Application

Analysis of Application Area

General Description

Webservers typically generate logfiles containing huge amounts of information on page accesses, used client software, type of access, and many more. Analysis tools like for example AWStats try to make use of this information and present simple statistics mostly in form of tables or simple bar graphs. Unfortunately, they are mostly very limited and "low-level" regarding their information representation. More interesting questions like user behavior in combination with site structure, dead ends, changes in behavior regarding to time (evolution), typical behavioral patterns, finding groups of users that share similar behavioral patterns, site entry points, or intrusion detection cannot be answered by using similar tools. For being able to deal with this kind of topics, more advanced visual tools are needed that unveil this information.

Target Group

Identifying the Target

We identified the following Target groups:

1. Software Companies: especially those who develop browsers and web based applications
2. Web Dsigners
3. Administrators
4. Advertising Companys
5. Web Users

Known Solutions / Methods (related to the target group)

1. Radial Tree Viewer
2. Anemone
3. Internet Cartographer
4. WebTracer
5. WebHopper
6. WebPath
7. The Chicago Tribune Website
8. Visualizing the online debate on the European Constitution
9. Mercator
   

...

Intended Purpose

Goals and Objectives

1. Which client software is used, which browsers
2. How users behave, in combination with site structure, dead ends, changes in behavior regarding to time.
3. Identify groups of users who act in a similar way.
4. Identify "hot" topics

Problems and Tasks to Solve

- Improve the Servers: Administrators, Web Designers and Software Companies need this information, to improve the Servers. They need to know what people are interested in, if there are special groups, which have similar behavior, navigate to the same themes and in a similar way. What kind of themes are often searched for, and how. With this information, they can help Users to get the things they want faster and easier. They can adapt the Server to the needs of the Users.
In order to effectively manage a web server, it is necessary to get feedback about the activity and performance of the server as well as any problems that may be occuring

- Adapt Advertising to Users interests:Advertising Companys can use the information to identify themes and products of interest to a group of users. You get an overview of groups of things people are interessted in. So they can adapt the topics of their advertisement to this information.

Proposed Design

Visual Mapping

(Datadimension => Attribute)