Statistics module

As institutions continue with their EMu implementations the question of statistical analysis of system operations and data content inevitably arises. System Administrators and managers require reports showing the number and type of operations performed on a per user basis, e.g. the number of insertions into the Parties module on a daily basis for the past month listed by user. The answer to this request is found in the records in the Audit module. In order to produce the information in a reportable format it is necessary to perform a number of searches of the Audit information and collate the results into a spreadsheet, which can then be graphed or tabulated. The process may be quite time consuming and tedious, and if the same information is required again at a future date, the same steps need to be repeated to get the same results.

Note: The Statistics module is designed to hold statistical data, with one statistical value stored per record. The value is computed by a task, which is charged with creating the record. Administrators can search the module to retrieve sequences of records used to produce reports.

The Statistics facility allows statistical information to be generated on a regular basis (hourly, daily, weekly or monthly) and stored in the Statistics module for later use. System administrators and managers need only search the Statistics module to locate the information they require and then produce a report (Excel Pivot table) from which tables and graphs may be generated.

The Statistics facility consists of two parts:

Statistics Module
The Statistics module contains records with computed statistical values. Each record contains one value, a floating point number, that represents the result of a statistical criteria. For example, a value of 10 may indicate the number of records inserted by user james into the Parties module on 17 February 2009. A standard EMu module interface is provided to the Statistics module. An Excel report is supplied that presents the records in a Pivot table for further manipulation.
Periodic Tasks
In order to provide useful statistical information it is necessary to have statistic records generated at regular intervals, removing the need for information to be obtained manually. The Periodic Tasks facility implements a framework in which individual tasks (scripts) can be placed and executed on a regular basis. It is the purpose of the tasks to generate statistical records by examining the various system reports and data within an EMu implementation. Periodic tasks can be run on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. It is possible to add new periods (e.g. fortnightly) if required.

Typical Statistics module tabs and their purpose

Tab	Description
Statistics	The Statistics tab contains all the information about the statistical data. The Statistics tab stores three discrete pieces of information: 1. Keys and Value The Keys describe the type of statistical value stored in the record. A record consists of a number of hierarchical keys in which each level defines a variable piece of information for the statistic generated. The top level is reserved for the type of record. In the image above the first Key has a value of `Number of Records By Table (daily)`. Three pieces of information are contained within the title: The value of the record is a record count (`Number of Records`). The record count is generated on a per table basis (`by Table`). The value is generated daily (`daily`). The second Key (`eparties`) indicates the table for which the record count applies. Thus, the record above contains the number of records in the eparties table generated daily. In general, the title of the record should use the word `by` to indicate what variables are contained within the record. For example, a title of `Audit Statistics by Operation by Module by User (daily)` would indicate that the record contains a count of the number of audit operations (insertions, edits, deletions, etc.) on a per table basis for each individual user. The value represents the number of operations on a daily basis. Given this title, Key 2 would contain the audit operation type, Key 3 the table name and Key 4 the username. The value is a floating point number containing the numeric value defined by the Keys. In most instances the value is an integer, however if averages are computed, the fractional part may be required. 2. Dates Three dates are provided: depending on the period of the statistical record, some or all of them may be filled: Exact - filled for data that is gathered within a single day (daily and hourly). From - the commencement date for the period. A commencement date should always be supplied. To - the completion date for the period. A completion date should always be supplied. If the period is a day or less, the commencement and completion dates are the same as the Exact date. The date fields are used to define the day or range of days covered by the statistical value. The values are very useful when performing searches to gather statistical information for reporting. 3. Times Three times are provided: depending on the period of the statistical record, some or all of them may be filled: Exact - filled for data that is gathered at a single point in time. Some hourly records represent a value at a fixed point in time, e.g. the number of users accessing the system. As this value represents the count at a fixed point in time, the Exact time field should be filled. From - the commencement time for the period. A commencement time should be supplied for tasks that are within a day (e.g. hourly). To - the completion time for the period. A completion time should be supplied for tasks that are within a day. The time fields are used to define the point in time or range of time covered by the statistical value. If the value period is a day or longer, the time fields should be left empty. The values are very useful when performing searches to gather statistical information for reporting.
Security	See Security tab for details.
Audit	See Audit tab for details.
Admin	See Admin tab for details.

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