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AppTrak
PAD file: 'Portable Application Description' files are datasets which allow software authors to communicate specific and most often requested information
about their products to online communities in a concise and standard way. Click
here for AppTrak PAD file which can be opened in a standard browser. Click
here for AppTrak PAD file in XML format (data can be extracted and
parsed using standard XML toolkits).
Overview
AppTrak is a fully client-based utility which
sits in the user's System Tray for monitoring and reporting on application set
up and application use. It periodically polls what is happening on the
desktop and writes the raw monitored data to a DB deployed with the application.
At the end of each monitoring period, the data is automatically queried, the
results are formatted and appended into Textfile Reports on the monitored PC,
the DB is refreshed, and the Textfile Reports are emailed to a nominated mailbox
(if this option is selected). AppTrak provides the following information: a) an
inventory of all applications installed on the monitored desktop b) which
applications automatically start on Windows startup c) which Services are
running, categorized according to manual-run and auto-run d) which
applications are opened and closed, and which processes are started and stopped over the monitoring period e) how many
instances of each application is run f) how the applications are used, when, and
for how long:
| Application Environment
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Application Use
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A
snapshot of applications, Services and their execution
status on the PC |
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'Application Environment' category to view example logs: |
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Logging
of user's interaction with applications and processes |
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'Application Use' category to view example logs: |
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Uses
AppTrak has considerable value
both for Business and at Home. Here are just some of its uses:
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Great for Contact Centres or Organizations looking to
optimize the workflow of staff who use CRM/ERP applications. AppTrak
enables measurement and comparison of desktop productivity, identification
of agent workflow patterns, and provides an input to agent training and
coaching for improved agent efficiency, since it reveals whether agents
are using the provided applications in the correct way, and at the correct
time. |
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Great as an aid in establishing root cause of poor
application performance and responsiveness - AppTrak reveals what the
staff member/agent was doing when, for example, excessive or anomalous
desktop resource utilization was recorded. |
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Great for IT License Management - AppTrak provides an
accurate picture of which applications staff/agents are actually using to
do their work, and which lie dormant. |
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Great for PC Use Surveillance - If anyone does anything on
your desktop while you're not there, AppTrak will capture it, and advise
you what occurred. |
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Great as a deterrent for children or students to using
the PC in 'unauthorized' ways eg visiting certain websites. |
 Please note: It may be against
Laws in your location to use this type of application on PCs that you do not
own. Laws may prevent use if you do not have intellectual
property rights over the PC you are monitoring or you do not have expressed
verbal or written permission to monitor that PC from the property owner. There
may also be Privacy Laws that restrict the obtaining of information that you have no
right to access.
Example Reports
| Workflow Report. This shows which
application was used the most in every 10 minute interval over the
monitoring period: |
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The chart was created simply by importing the 'Most Used
Application Per Period' section of the AppTrakUseLog.txt file into EXCEL,
and running the Chart Wizard on the data.
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| Relative Cumulative Use Duration Report.
This aggregates the total time spent in each application over the
monitoring period, and displays the results in 'most' to 'least' use
order: |
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Only those applications that were used for more than 1
second, have been included in the chart. In addition to showing relative
use, this chart also quickly reveals what wasn't used. |
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| click button for additional
example (a Siebel user at a Contact Centre) |
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| 'Drill Down' Use Report. Shows the use
profile of each application that was used over the monitoring period:
Specifically, for each application, the Report shows whether the
application was recorded as having been used in each 10 minute interval
over the monitoring period. In this example, looking at the 'Relative
Cumulative Use Duration' Report, it was desired to chart and compare the
use profiles for the two most used Microsoft Office applications (Outlook
and EXCEL), the most used Browser-accessed application (SAP) and the two
Mainframe Sessions (Flexbill and AXOS). The charts were created simply by
importing the 'Use Per Period' sections of the AppTrakUseLog.txt file into
EXCEL, and running the Chart Wizard on the data.
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We see that Outlook -
the most used application overall, was used in each interval (each consecutive 10
minutes) over the monitoring period (one hour in this case). And with
reference to the Workflow Report, we find Outlook was used more than any other
application in the first, middle and last interval of the hour. |
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We see that EXCEL - the
second most used application overall, was used in each interval over the monitoring period.
However, with reference to the Workflow Report, we find EXCEL was used more
than any other other application only in the second-last interval of the
hour. |
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We see that SAP - the
third most used application overall, was used in the second and third
interval of the monitoring period only. However, with reference to the
Workflow Report, we find SAP was actually used more than any other
application in the third interval of the hour. |
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We see that AXOS - the
fifth most used application overall but the most used mainframe system,
was used in the second and third interval of the monitoring period only.
With reference to the Workflow Report, we find AXOS was never the most
used application in any interval of the hour. |
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We see that Flexbill -
the seventh most used application overall and the second most used
mainframe system, was used in the second and third interval of the
monitoring period only (like AXOS and SAP). With reference to the Workflow
Report, we find AXOS was never the most used application in any interval
of the hour. |
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