Create a step attribute through BBR
Through Request view in BBR, you can review the JSON messages and then create attributes or events (and attributes) from them. In this example, you create a step attribute that tracks total storage for the mobile devices.
When you create the event, you use the context menu, to create a step attribute to gather the value from the message property. Optionally, you can create an event to detect for the specific value in the request. At the end of each menu item, you can see the path to the message property.
- If you have the session open in BBR, click Request.
- In the navigational panel, click the first page in the list.
- Click the Click here to view Step Attributes link. The client framework messages are displayed in a more legible format.
- Scroll down until you find the
clientEnvironment
section. You might notice that as you move a gray highlight bar appears on the name-value pair in the message under the mouse point. - Move the mouse over the name-value pair for the event you want to collect data for. For example, the
totalStorage
line. The gray bar highlights the name-value pair. - Right-click to open the context menu.
- Select Create New Step Attribute from selection. The browser window that was displaying the session list is switched to display the Hit Attributes tab in the Event Manager. The message property information is loaded into the New Attribute dialog.
- To simplify locating this item in a list, change the Name value to something you can remember. In this example, you might name the value:
Mobile - Environment - Total Storage
. - Click Save Draft.
Create an event without a replay session
You do not need a replay session to create an event, you can create an event from scratch.
In the event definition, you define the event, for example Mobile - Environment - Total
Storage
, to detect for the presence of the step attribute of the same name. When the event is triggered, the value that is recorded is the value in the step attribute. In this example, the attribute is evaluated after every step, tracked on the first match in a session, and has a numeric value.
- If you are not already in the Event Manager, in the Portal menu, select Configure > Event Manager.
- Click the Events tab.
- Click New Event.
- Define the event properties:
Property Description Name
Set this value to the same as the step attribute. For example, Mobile - Environment - Total Storage
.Description
Add a user-friendly description, for example: from step attribute of same name . Evaluate
Select After Every Step
.Track
If this attribute does not change at any time, select First per Session
.Value Type
For the type of value to record, select Numeric
. - In the Condition step, set the conditions for the attribute to be evaluated:
- In the left navigation panel, select the Hit Attributes category.
Note: Step attributes are stored and referenced just like other hit attributes in Tealeaf.
- Select the attribute, for example,
Mobile - Environment - Total Storage
. - From the first drop-down, select when the attribute is tracked, for example,
First Value
. - From the second-drop down, select when the attribute is evaluated, for example,
Is not empty
.
- In the left navigation panel, select the Hit Attributes category.
- Click the Value step. Configure the attribute value:
- Click Select Item to Record....
- Click the Hit Attributes category.
- Select the attribute, for example,
Mobile - Environment - Total Storage
. - From the drop-down, verify that the selected option is set to
First Match per Hit
.
- Configure the other steps of your event as needed.
- Click Save Draft.
Save your event to the server
After you test your attribute and event, save them to the server.
- From the Portal menu, select Configure > Event Manager.
- To commit the change to the server, click Save Changes in the toolbar.
- Enter a comment as needed. Click Commit.
Note: It might take a few moments for newly created step attributes or events to appear in the Event Manager. However, they are immediately applied to capture stream after they are committed to the server.
Creating dimensions from your mobile events
Whenever an event is triggered, the session attribute is updated, and any dimensions that are associated with the event are updated. A dimension is a piece of contextual information that is recorded when an event fires. You can use dimensions to create reporting filters to segment report along the type of client framework session.
For example, suppose that you created an event to track application error messages that are delivered to your visitors. While this kind of event is useful, it is important to be able to provide contextual information for the event. Does it occur in specific versions of the application? For which models? Is it localized to a specific locale? Answers to these questions can be useful to your developers in resolving the source of the issue. These bits of contextual information can be captured and stored in dimensions, the values for which are recorded when the event occurs.
One of the elements of the client environment data that can be tracked is the model of the device that is used to initiate the session. You can create an event to track the deviceModel
attribute. In this example, you create a dimension to track the device model event, as captured by the Mobile - iOS - Device Model
event.
- In the Portal menu, select Configure > Event Manager.
- In the Event Manager, click the Dimensions tab.
- In the Dimensions tab, click New Dimension.
- In the New Dimension dialog, add a name and description.
- Click Select and select the event that you created.
- Specify the values to record:
Values to Record
: Set this value toWhitelist + Observed Values
.Turn On Logging
: Click this button to enable logging of values. Logged values are used to create whitelists.
- Leave the remaining values as their defaults.
- Click Save Draft.
- Click Save Changes.
- Add a note to indicate the change. To commit your changes to the server, click Save Changes.
Associating the dimension with the event
To begin capturing values for the dimension, it must be associated with one or more events through a report group. A report group is an organizational structure that groups dimensions into a single reporting entity. It is the report group that is linked to the event; when the event fires, currently available values for any dimensions in the report group are recorded with the event.
- In the Event Manager, click the Dimensions tab.
- In the Event Filter in the left panel, enter Application Error or another string that identifies the name of the event with which you want to associate the event.
- When the event is displayed in the main panel, right-click it and select Edit Event.
- Click the Report Groups step.
- In the left panel, click New Report Group.
- Enter a meaningful name for the report group, such as
Mobile Device Information
. - Click Add Dimensions.
- Select the dimension that you just created.
- Populate the other fields as needed.
- Click Save Draft.
In the Event wizard, the report group and dimension are displayed in the Report Groups step.
- Click Save Draft.
- In the toolbar, click Save Changes.
- Enter a comment and click Commit.
The dimension is now associated with the new report group, which is available in the Dimensions tab.
The report group was associated with your application error event, so whenever the application error event occurs, the value for the device model is recorded with the event.
Capturing dimension data
You configured your dimension to capture the device model information that is captured from an event. Currently, your dimension is configured to capture whitelisted values and observed values.
- Whitelisted values are values that you specifically configure the dimension to look for. When a value that you added to the dimension's whitelist occurs in the capture stream, the value is recorded as dimensional data for reporting purposes in the database.
- Observed values are any value detected in the capture stream. If the source of the dimension, an event in this case, occurs, then the observed value is detected and recorded into the database each time that it occurs.
Note: When the capture of observed values is enabled, each and every detected instance of the dimension is recorded, which can quickly grow the size of the data that is stored in the database. If it is cleared, the data growth can consume all available disk space.
In the default configuration, which this event uses, all observed values are recorded as independent values. The number of device models, however, is finite, and potentially well-defined.
Testing events
After you identified a session with your event, you might find it useful to send to the Event Tester. In the Event Tester, you test events that are in development to see whether they work as expected.
When sessions are submitted to the Event Tester, they are retained only during your current session. After you log out or are timed out, the session is no longer available in the Event Tester.
If you installed CX RealiTea Viewer on your local desktop, you can choose to replay the session in RTV and then save it as a TLA
file. This file can be uploaded at any time, again and again, to the Event Tester through the Event Tester user interface.
- In the left column, click the Send to Event Tester icon.
- In the dialog, enter a memorable name for the session, such as
Mobile Session
. - Click Send to Event Tester.
- When prompted, you can choose to go to the Event Tester to explore how it works.
- If you are done exploring, select Configure > Event Manager to return to the Event Manager to create more event objects.