Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites

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dc.contributor.advisorMarsden, Garyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWong, Bryanen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-13T19:24:30Z
dc.date.available2014-08-13T19:24:30Z
dc.date.issued2004en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractLog file analysis provides a cost-effective means to detennine web site usage. However, current methods of displaying log analysis results tend to be limited in that they either contain no reference to a web site's structure, or else they portray this structure as a standard graph or tree. This dissertation presents a visual representation of web server log information, which addresses these limitations by incorporating log file data into a visualisation of a web site's layout. The devised visualisation utilizes properties unique to web sites in order to create a compromise between the clutter-prone network graph and the infonnation incomplete tree representations that have traditionally been used to depict web sites. As such, the visualisation emphasises typical web site features such as the home page, sub-sites and navigation bars. This approach pennitted the introduction of the concept of implying the presence of links without explicitly rendering them. This notion has many implications, not least of which is the reduction of cluttering. The visualisation combined several other techniques to address the issues of structure and data representation, data exploration, scalability and context maintenance. Assessment of the visualisation consisted of a heuristic evaluation by an expert from the web site usage industry, a test to detelmine the intuitiveness of the representation, and a series of user experiments. Results of the assessment were generally promising although a few areas of concern, such as the difficulty experienced by users in navigating the visualisation with a trackball, were identified. These issues should not prove to be too difficult to overcome however. The visualisation could thus be said to have successfully met the aim of developing a representation of web site usage infonnation that incorporates site structure and treats web sites as unique entities, thereby taking advantage of their particular characteristics. It is hoped such a visualisation will be of benefit to web site designers and administrators in analysing and ultimately improving their web sites.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationWong, B. (2004). <i>Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Computer Science. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6365en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWong, Bryan. <i>"Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Computer Science, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6365en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWong, B. 2004. Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Wong, Bryan AB - Log file analysis provides a cost-effective means to detennine web site usage. However, current methods of displaying log analysis results tend to be limited in that they either contain no reference to a web site's structure, or else they portray this structure as a standard graph or tree. This dissertation presents a visual representation of web server log information, which addresses these limitations by incorporating log file data into a visualisation of a web site's layout. The devised visualisation utilizes properties unique to web sites in order to create a compromise between the clutter-prone network graph and the infonnation incomplete tree representations that have traditionally been used to depict web sites. As such, the visualisation emphasises typical web site features such as the home page, sub-sites and navigation bars. This approach pennitted the introduction of the concept of implying the presence of links without explicitly rendering them. This notion has many implications, not least of which is the reduction of cluttering. The visualisation combined several other techniques to address the issues of structure and data representation, data exploration, scalability and context maintenance. Assessment of the visualisation consisted of a heuristic evaluation by an expert from the web site usage industry, a test to detelmine the intuitiveness of the representation, and a series of user experiments. Results of the assessment were generally promising although a few areas of concern, such as the difficulty experienced by users in navigating the visualisation with a trackball, were identified. These issues should not prove to be too difficult to overcome however. The visualisation could thus be said to have successfully met the aim of developing a representation of web site usage infonnation that incorporates site structure and treats web sites as unique entities, thereby taking advantage of their particular characteristics. It is hoped such a visualisation will be of benefit to web site designers and administrators in analysing and ultimately improving their web sites. DA - 2004 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2004 T1 - Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites TI - Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6365 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/6365
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWong B. Using access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sites. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Computer Science, 2004 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6365en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Computer Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherComputer Scienceen_ZA
dc.titleUsing access information in the dynamic visualisation of web sitesen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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