518705 - Expose download sources to add-on developers

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(addons.mozilla.org Graveyard :: Statistics, defect, P1)

Description

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

We'll be adding tracking codes to all install buttons on the site in bug 507214 which can be completed once install buttons are rewritten in bug 498825 (which was to be finished for 5.1 and has slipped to 5.2)

In bug 507221 we'll be keeping track of download sources in the db, and this bug is about exposing those sources to add-on developers in the Statistics Dashboard.

There are several top-level sources, such as Search, Category Browse, Collections, etc. (full list is in attachment 392581 [details] [diff]) Among these are custom external sources that developers can use on their own sites, so if I have a link to install my add-on in my blog, I can set src=ext-blog and that should show up in AMO's sources table.

So, we will need to display all of these sources and the number of downloads in the stats dashboard. I'm thinking this should just be another dropdown option with a timeplot graph showing the different sources and the normal CSV export for them.

In addition to the timeplot graph, however, we should have a separate sources page that breaks down in detail the sources. I'm thinking something like

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Source                         | Last 7 Days | Last 30 Days | All Time |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Search Results                 |         9   |          18  |     36   |
|    (brief description of what  |             |              |          |
|     this means)                |             |              |          |
|                                |             |              |          |
| Collections                    |         5   |          10  |     20   |
|    (brief description of what  |             |              |          |
|     this means)                |             |              |          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

And below that, a breakdown of how many downloads have come from each collection in a similar table.

Assigning to myself to get chowse's bugzilla account working again so I can assign to chowse for the designs of this page, which I think he already started on last month.

Comment 2

[Chris Howse [:chowse]]

Attachment: Stats Dashboard Mockup

Mockup attached. Some notes on navigation and behavior:

- The download sources table is meant to replace the "Total Downloads/Active Daily Users" panel when the user selects "Download Sources" from the top-left download. This table can be moved to a separate page if necessary, but I feel it loses some useful context if it's removed from the timeplot.

- The "Explain" link causes the help text to appear beneath the row heading, like displayed in the first column. A popup could work just as well, but a reveal seems easier.

- By default, the table of Top 10 Collections is hidden, and is revealed by clicking the "Show Top 10 Collections" link. The list can be removed again by using the "Hide Top 10" link that appears at the bottom. Also, the percentages shown for each collection should be out of collection-related downloads, not all downloads, or you risk getting too small numbers.

- I used percentages to capture how big a slice each download represents, and to make better use of the extra horizontal space. I considered two alternatives: using bar-chart sparklines to visually represent the percentage (like done in Cesium); or making the table narrower, and adding pie charts in the right margin. If either of these sounds preferable, let me know.

- I've removed some extra visual cruft from the current dashboard, namely the blue bevel around the timeplot and the the green background in the panel below it. These amount to a few simple CSS tweaks, and should be done while we're refreshing the dashboard.

Comment 3

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

Cool! I like it. Thanks chowse.

Scott, this is ready I think.

I'll comment here early next week with the copy/explanations.

Comment 4

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

Are there any CSVs off this page?

Comment 5

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

Yes, the data should be available in a CSV with the various sources for each day.

Comment 6

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

We don't need to have a CSV for specific collections though. Just the top-level sources is good.

Comment 7

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

Here are the juicy details and copy:

The sources should be sorted by all-time downloads descending. If a source does not have any downloads, it should not be displayed.

As we don't actually have source data for "All Time", we will need to add an Unknown source that will take up all downloads prior to source tracking, as well as any downloads that don't have a source.

Unknown should always be the last item in the list, regardless of where it would fall in normal sort.

----

The copy for the sources is as follows:

From Category Pages
Category pages are the pages listing add-ons in a specific category, such as "Alerts & Updates" or "Tabs".

From Search Results
Search results pages are the lists of add-ons returned after a user searches the site. (Not from external search engines)

From Collections
Collections are user-created lists of add-ons.

From the Add-ons Manager
Add-ons can be downloaded from the Add-ons Manager in Firefox 3, Thunderbird 3, and later versions.

From the Add-on Collector
The Add-on Collector is an extension that lets users subscribe to collections and install their add-ons.

From the Details Page
The details page is the main listing page of your add-on.

From the Homepage
Your add-on may appear on the homepage when it is recently updated, created, popular, or recommended.

From the Promotion Box
Add-ons in a featured collection can appear in the rotating promotion box on the homepage.

From the Recommended Page
Add-ons recommended by Mozilla can be downloaded from the Recommended Page.

Unknown
Downloads prior to the start of source tracking in October 2009, as well as those with an unknown source.

From external source: source name
Downloads from an external source, as configured by you.


----

Below the source list, there should be a link that says:
Learn how to track external sources

When clicked, it should show this, replacing any {addon-id} occurrences with the actual add-on's id:

If you link to your add-on's display page or file from an external site, such as your blog or website, you can append a parameter to be tracked as an additional download source in the above chart. For example, the following links would appear as sourced by your blog:
<ul>
<li>Add-on Details Page - https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/{addon-id}<b>?src=external-blog</b></li>
<li>Direct File Link - https://addons.mozilla.org/downloads/latest/{addon-id}/addon-{addon-id}-latest.xpi<b>?src=external-blog</b></li>
</ul>
Only src parameters that begin with "external-" will be tracked. Any text after "external-" can be used to describe the source, such as "external-blog", "external-sidebar", "external-campaign225", etc.

------

As a side note, I am more and more bothered by how much we're cramming into the Stats Dashboard page, and will likely be unable to control myself from attacking it in the near future. I will try to wait until this patch lands to do so.

Thanks! :)

Comment 8

[Scott McCammon [:mccammos]]

fligtar: Do we want to display the CSV in a table like we do for most other plots? It's zero effort, but probably too much info crammed in as you mentioned?

Comment 9

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

nah, we'll just link to the CSV

Comment 10

[Scott McCammon [:mccammos]]

Attachment: Fix, v1

Feel free to use mc_remora with ThreadBubble test data.

Also feel free to check in any r+ patch, connectivity opportunities on Oct13 will be sketchy at best for me.

Comment 11

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

Comment on attachment 405984 [details] [diff] [review]
Fix, v1

r53316, thanks.

Why are we trying to explain add-on sources instead of just linking to examples?  

"The details page is the main listing page of your add-on." <- why not a link?

"Add-ons recommended by Mozilla can be downloaded from the Recommended Page." <- link?

etc.

Comment 12

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

Daniel pointed out a src that's in use that I didn't know about, but upon reflection I think we should add it to the dashboard:

src: developers
name: From Meet the Developers
description: For add-ons that have set up a Developer Profile, the Meet the Developers page is linked from the Details Page and is often used with Contributions.

Comment 13

[Scott McCammon [:mccammos]]

Attachment: Developers Source

Comment 14

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

r53387