Tracking and analyzing mobile application user interactions

• US 10,097,430 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2016
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Bartholomew, Aaron Robert, Hogg, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Mundur, Padma
• Application Number:
  US15/053,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20160254970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic

Abstract

The present disclosure extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for tracking and analyzing mobile application user interactions. One or more mobile devices run an application. At each of the one or more mobile devices, a framework level interaction logger logs user interactions with the application. Analysis modules and heat map generators can use the logged user interactions to generate reports and heat maps indicative of the performance of the application.

Claims

1. A processor implemented method for use at computer system, the computer system including a processor, the processor implemented method for presenting a visual representation of user interactions with an application, the processor implemented method comprising:

receiving a selection of data elements that are to be presented in a heat map for the application, the data elements including;

user interactions with a plurality of application elements of the application on a per user interaction and per application element basis, connection information, and device information, the connection information related to characteristics of a network connection used by the application, the device information related to characteristics of a mobile device;

accessing values for the data elements from a network storage location, the values received from one or more mobile devices, the values gathered during operation of the application at each of the one or more mobile devices in accordance with logging configuration options defining the data elements, the values logged at and transmitted from each of the one or more mobile devices based on resource availability at the mobile device;

using a heat map generator to form a heat map for the application by representing the user interactions as a visual heat map overlay of the application based on the accessed values, the heat map varying the visual representation of each user interaction based on values for the user interaction, values for connection information associated with the user interaction, and values for device information associated with the user interaction, including, for each user interaction;

generating, for display in a user experience tool, an overlay simultaneously visually indicating a location of the user interaction and a path between the locations of the user interaction and a subsequent user interaction; and

displaying in the user experience tool, the heat map with the overlay on an application view as it appeared to a user at the time the user interactions took place.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay further visually indicates specific interaction points within the application view.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the specific interaction points are visually indicated using a scale to represent frequency of occurrence.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each path is visually indicated using a scale to represent frequency of occurrence.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is one of:

a mobile application and a web-based application.