Matching Users with Content

 

This chapter describes how to set up rules that control how indexed content is matched to users.

This topic includes the following sections:

• Creating Rules

  • Creating User Segments

  • Creating Content Selectors

 

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Creating Rules

In the chapter on "Working with User Profiles," you assigned a set of properties to a user, which included a property called AcmePoints. This property allows you to track the number of visits a user has made to the exampleportal site. In the chapter on "Working with Content," you loaded and indexed metadata and content, making it available to show to different types of users. In this chapter, you will combine those two pieces to match users with content.

You will create categories of users called user "segments" (as in segments of the population) that automatically classify users as infrequent visitors or frequent visitors based on the number of AcmePoints, or logins, they have accumulated. You will then create rules that map infrequent and frequent visitors to the metadata-and the content-you want to show them.

Launching the E-Business Control Center

You will use the BEA E-Business Control Center to create segments and content selectors. To launch the E-Business Control Center:

1. Make sure WebLogic Commerce Server is running. (See the "Getting Started" section in the "Overview of the Personalization Tour" chapter for instructions on starting the server.)

2. Launch the BEA E-Business Control Center:

   Windows Start --> Programs --> BEA WebLogic E-Business Platform --> BEA Campaign Manager --> BEA E-Business Control Center.

   UNIX <install-dir>/E-BusinessControlCenter/bin/ebcc.sh

   Three separate windows appear, including a Server Connection window.

   Figure 5-1 Connecting to the E-Business Control Center

   
    

3. In the Server Connection window, select the New Connection tab and enter the following:

   Display Name: An optional name to identify the server

   Hostname: The <wlhost> name, for example, localhost

   Port: The server <port> number, for example, 7501

   Note: If you don't know the port number, or if it is different than the default of 7501, you can look at the bottom of the WebLogic Commerce Server startup window to see which ports are listed.

   Username: administrator

   Password: password

   Note: The Username and Password are the same defaults used to log into the Administration Tools Home page.

4. Click Connect. On successful connection, the Server Connection window disappears.

   Note: On subsequent logins, you can click the Previous Connections tab in the Server Connection window to select the server you want. You must also reenter the password.

Creating User Segments

In this section, you will create two user segments that define frequent visitors and infrequent visitors. Later, you will map these segments to content by creating content selector rules.

Creating a FrequentVisitor Segment

The FrequentVisitor segment will identify frequent visitors as those who have logged in fewer than four times (have less than four Acme points).

1. In the Explorer [E-Business Control Center] window, click the New icon, and in the drop-down list, select "Segment." The Editor window appears.

   Figure 5-2 Creating a segment

   
    

2. In the Edit window, enter the following:

   Name: FrequentVisitor (Make sure you type this exactly as shown.)

   Description: Users with four or more visits

3. Click the Create/Edit button. The Customer Segment window appears.

   Figure 5-3 Assigning characteristics to a segment

   
    

4. In the Conditions section of the window, select "The visitor has specific characteristics" option.

5. In the Action pane, click the "characteristics" link. The Visitor Characteristics window appears.

   Note: In the "When all of these conditions apply" line, clicking the "all" link toggles it to an "any" link, and vice versa. This setting applies to the items you add to the Action pane.

   Figure 5-4 Using the AcmePoints property as a characteristic of the segment

   
    

6. In the Visitor property set field, select "exampleportal."

7. In the Visitor property field, select "AcmePoints."

8. Click Add. The Visitor Characteristic Values window appears.

   Figure 5-5 Setting the condition to compare itself to the number of AcmePoints

   
    

9. In the Comparison field, select "is greater than or equal to," and in the Value field, enter 4.

10. Click Add. A line is added to the Value phrases pane.

11. Click OK. The window disappears, and a line is added to the Visitor Characteristics window.

12. Click OK. The line is added to the Action pane of the Customer Segment window.

    Figure 5-6 Viewing the completed characteristic in the Action pane

    
     

    Note: The items in the Action pane are links that let you view, edit, or remove the actions.

13. Click OK. The Editor window displays the new characteristic for FrequentVisitor.

14. Click the Save icon in the BEA E-Business Control Center window to save the new FrequentVisitor segment rule.

    Note: The Save icon will not be active if the Explorer window has focus.

    Figure 5-7 Viewing the new segment in the Explorer window

    
     

15. In the Explorer window, click the Segments icon and make sure FrequentVisitor is listed.

Creating an InfrequentVisitor Segment

The InfrequentVisitor segment will identify infrequent visitors as those who have logged in four times or more (have four or more Acme points).

Go back to Creating a FrequentVisitor Segment. Repeat the procedure, but this time create an InfrequentVisitor segment. Substitute the following field values for those in the existing procedure:

Name: Enter InfrequentVisitor (Make sure you type this exactly as shown.)

Description: Enter Users with less than four visits

Comparison: Select "is less than"

Value: Enter the number 4

Note: When you're finished, make sure that InfrequentVisitor shows up in the Segments list of the Explorer window.

Creating Content Selectors

You have created two segment rules that categorize users as frequent visitors or infrequent visitors. In this section, you will create two content selector rules that match infrequent visitors to one set of content and frequent visitors to another set of content.

Creating a Hints Content Selector

The hints content selector will match infrequent visitors to hints on how to use exampleportal's features.

1. In the Explorer [E-Business Control Center] window, click the New icon, and in the drop-down list, select "Content Selector." The Editor window appears.

2. In the Edit window, enter the following:

   Name: Hints (Make sure you type this exactly as shown.)

   Description: Shows site usage hints to users in the InfrequentVisitor segment

3. Click the Create/Edit button. The ContentSelector window appears.

4. In the Conditions list, select "The visitor is a member of a predefined customer segment."

5. In the Action pane, click the customer segment link. The Select Customer Segments window appears.

6. In the Available Segments list, double-click InfrequentVisitor to move it to the Selected Segments list.

   Figure 5-8 Choosing a segment for matching content

   
    

7. Select either of the "Qualifying visitors may belong to..." options.

8. Click OK. The window disappears, and the InfrequentVisitor segment name is added to the Content Selector window.

   Now that you have assigned the InfrequentVisitor segment to the Hints content selector, you will select the content that infrequent visitors will see when they visit the site.

9. In the Action pane of the ContentSelector window, click the empty content search link. The Content Search window appears.

10. In the Property set field, select "LoadedData."

    Note: LoadedData is made up of the metadata that was loaded when you ran the BulkLoader. If you use a different document management system, you will see different content types.

11. In the Property field, select "visitingFrequency."

12. Click Add. The Content Search Values window appears.

    Figure 5-9 Selecting content to show customers who belong to the segment

    
     

13. In the Comparison field, make sure "is equal to" is selected.

14. In the Value field, enter InfrequentVisitor.

    Note: Make sure you type this exactly. If it doesn't exactly match the name in the metadata, the messages won't be displayed.

15. Click Add. The item is added to the Value Phrases pane.

16. Click OK. The window appears, and the line is added to the Content Search window.

17. Click OK. In the Content Selector window, the "empty content search" link is replaced with "content search."

18. Click OK. The "InfrequentVisitor" and "content search" items appear in the Editor window.

19. Click the Save icon in the BEA E-Business Control Center window to save the new Hints content selector rule.

    Note: The Save icon will not be active if the Explorer window has focus.

20. In the Explorer window, click the Content Selectors icon and make sure Hints is listed.

Creating a FrequentVisitorMessage Content Selector

The FrequentVisitorMessage content selector will match promotional messages to frequent visitors.

Go back to Creating a Hints Content Selector. Repeat the procedure, but this time create a content selector rule for frequent visitors. Substitute the following field values for those in the existing procedure:

Name: Enter FrequentVisitorMessage. (Make sure you type this exactly as shown.)

Description: Enter Selects a preview message for users in the FrequentVisitor segment.

Available Segments: Double-click "FrequentVisitor" to move it into the Selected Segments list.

Value: Enter FrequentVisitor. (Make sure you type this exactly as shown.)

Note: When you're finished, make sure that FrequentVisitorMessage appears in the Content Selectors list of the Explorer window.

You have completed creating rules that match content to users who log into the exampleportal. In the next section, you will add a JSP that displays the infrequent visitor or frequent visitor content based on the number of AcmePoints the visitor has accumulated.