All Systems Go!

Using Looker Studio, Google Analytics, and Alma APIs to Create a Systems Monitoring Dashboard

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Jill Locascio, MLIS, M.S.

Systems, Digital & Technical Services Librarian

SUNY College of Optometry

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Challenges of monitoring systems

• Users seldom report issues they run into
• Manual checking can be onerous and incomplete
• You don’t know what you don’t know

Finding a better way

• Make use of the data provided by our systems
• Identify patterns
• Create reports to proactively flag potential issues
• Troubleshoot before issues become widespread

Looker Studio Dashboard

• Converts data from multiple sources into reports, visualizations, and dashboards
• Flexible
• Self-updates
• Easy to share/embed

Our Dashboard

• Alma Analytics data + Google Analytics data -> Looker Studio

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Alma Analytics Reports in Looker Studio

• Unavailable portfolios report
• Alerts us to portfolios deleted from non-auto active collection by CZ job
• Primo log-in errors report
• Alerts us to new users not in the system as well as broad authentication issues

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Google Analytics

• Custom events for data unavailable from Alma/Primo Analytics (e.g., GES clicks)
• Rich contextual data for each event (e.g., URL, page title, link text, time of day)

Google Analytics Reports in Looker Studio

• Service click abnormalities report (i.e., something might be wrong with one of these links!)
• Alerts us to multiple clicks on different full text links on same record during same session
• Alerts us to multiple clicks on same full text link during same session
• Help button clicks report
• Alerts us to clicks on the help button, even the user never submitted the help form

Getting Alma Data into Looker Studio

• Alma Analytics API provides for getting data out of Analytics
• Looker Studio does NOT have a currently working connector to get API data from Alma
• Looker Studio does connect to Google Sheets
• Google Sheets can be used to get Alma Analytics data via API
• https://github.com/gwu-libraries/alma-analytics-sheets

Creating a Looker Studio Dashboard

• Choose your data source(s)
• Determine how to present data (i.e., tables, visualizations)
• Create your reports
• Create blank dashboard, add reports, style dashboard
• Publish, share dashboard

Things to Keep in Mind

• One size does not fit all
• Not all issues can be caught
• One day lag for Alma and Google Analytics data – dashboard not in real time
• You don’t know what you don’t know – keep learning, keep iterating

Tips for Creating Reports

• What are common/recurring issues and is there a way to flag them?
• What are some indications from the data you collect that there may be an issue?
• What types of user/system behavior do you think would be a good trigger?

Thank you!

Jill Locascio, MLIS, M.S.

Systems, Digital & Technical Services

SUNY College of Optometry

jlocascio@sunyopt.edu