December 2013 Summaries

Heap recently revamped its line graphs to enhance user experience and data transparency, addressing issues identified through customer feedback and internal usage. The redesign includes several key changes: increasing the target size for easier interaction, reducing tooltip animation duration for smoother transitions, and simplifying the design by removing unnecessary labels. The new graphs use linear interpolation, replacing the potentially misleading monotone cubic smoothing, and introduce a mouseleave interaction to improve tooltip visibility. For multiple line graphs, the redesign resolves overlapping vertices issues by transforming the legend into a semi-transparent tooltip and eliminating vertices to boost performance and clarity. Despite these improvements, challenges remain, such as managing the display of numerous data series without overwhelming users and refining tooltip and legend placement to minimize data obstruction. The article invites feedback and discussions on these design changes and offers a glimpse into Heap's collaborative approach to continuous improvement.

Heap has introduced a feature that allows users to define web events using hierarchical CSS selectors, making it easier to retroactively analyze user interactions without needing new code or waiting for data collection. This capability enables users to identify interactions, such as clicks on a gallery image, even if class names weren't initially assigned to elements, by using a hierarchical approach similar to CSS selectors. The data on these interactions is computed instantly and can be used for segmenting and constructing cohorts as if they had been tracked from the start. This feature has been available since November 17, 2013, allowing queries involving hierarchical events to access data from that date forward, while non-hierarchical events continue to function as before.