Mobile App Analytics from A to Z. Part #2

Vice President of Taptica, Matt Tubergen, discusses on Pocket Gamer how to work with analytics. We offer a translation of his second article, "Basics of Post-Install Analytics", dedicated to events and their parameters.

In the first article, we introduced the topic of post-installs. In this second piece, we will discuss data structure. Essentially, almost all mobile services specializing in monitoring post-installs (Flurry, Mixpanel, etc.) share similar components for structuring analytics.

Understanding these components will help you formulate requests correctly, as well as search for and find the data you are specifically interested in.

Events

Events are unique actions recorded by the service. In the mobile industry, they are typically tied to a specific user. An event can be a simple click on a particular button or a user receiving a reward.

Events help capture user behavior. The collected data can then be analyzed. Remember that events can reflect any player actions. You can also set up a series of events to search for any common patterns.

If you identify the necessary key events before integrating the service into the game, you won’t face any problems analyzing the data.

Event Parameters

Parameters are data that can be indirectly linked to events.

For example, a user completing a level is an event. As soon as the event triggers, the user receives points and a star rating. Both the points and the rating can be designated as event parameters, so you can see how many users, on average, complete the level with a certain number of points or rating.

Recording event parameters will help you better understand why and how users react to game events.

Segments

Segments are data based on some common information, such as when a user was acquired, how much time they spent in the game, and so on.

Typically, segments are grouped into application usage periods. This helps structure the information and compare one period with another.

For example, after updating an app, a publisher can compare old data with new data and determine whether the initial levels in the game have become more difficult for users (based on points and stars earned).

Back to Planning

In the previous post, we talked about the importance of formulating simple questions for the data received. Having dealt with the questions, it’s time to determine which events, their parameters, and segments are key for you.