{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "title" : "What is the Digital Analytics Program (DAP)? |Digital.gov",
    "description": "What is the Digital Analytics Program (DAP)?",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2015/03/04/what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"What is the Digital Analytics Program (DAP)?","summary" : "The Digital Analytics Program (DAP) is a cornerstone of the 2012 Digital Government Strategy’s mission to improve the citizen experience by streamlining the collection and analysis of digital analytics data on a federal government-wide scale.","date" : "2015-03-04T10:00:23-04:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"tlowden" : "Tim Lowden","marina-fox" : "Marina Fox"},"topics" : {
        
            "analytics" : "Analytics",
            "customer-experience" : "Customer experience"
            },"branch" : "cm-topics-button-component",
      "filename" :"2015-03-04-what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/03/2015-03-04-what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2015/03/2015-03-04-what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2015/03/2015-03-04-what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap.md","slug" : "what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2015/03/04/what-is-the-digital-analytics-program-dap/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/03/352-x-250-DAP-Realtime-Users.jpg\"\n    alt=\"An example of the real-time reporting in DAP\u0026#39;s Web analytics tool where a count of visitors reads 181,221.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/guides/dap/\"\u003eDigital Analytics Program (DAP)\u003c/a\u003e is a cornerstone of the 2012 Digital Government Strategy’s mission to improve the citizen experience by streamlining the collection and analysis of digital analytics data on a federal government-wide scale. The DAP, provided by GSA to all federal executive branch agencies, delivers digital analytics tools (like Web analytics and customer satisfaction survey tools), performance metrics guidance, metrics benchmarks, and training, all at no cost.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"common-set-of-digital-metrics-gov-wide\"\u003eCommon Set of Digital Metrics Gov-Wide\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/02/424-x-296-DAP-mobile-visits-Top-Locations.jpg\"\n    alt=\"An example of a graphic displaying users\u0026#39; country of visit in the DAP Web analytics tool.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe DAP’s customized Web analytics solution provides federal employees access to a common set of web metrics like pageviews, unique users, mobile vs. desktop visits, average time on page, bounce rate, number of downloads, etc. as well as dimensions like location, browser, and operating system of visitors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCurrently, the DAP is used by more than 3,800 government websites that belong to 37 agencies. These websites get 1.5+ billion page views each month. In just over two years, the DAP has grown to become the largest Google Analytics Premium account in the world.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tool’s most unique feature is that online traffic data for all participating government websites, including a “government-wide” rollup, is available to each DAP user. This allows web managers to identify and learn from successful websites, collaborate to streamline duplicate content, and have a broad perspective to \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2014/10/23/web-design-changes-let-the-metrics-be-your-guide/\"\u003emake metrics-based website decisions\u003c/a\u003e. The DAP Web analytics tool not only provides cost savings, but it is also the only program that can give agency stakeholders perspective into the way people interact with government websites on such a massive scale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlong those lines, the DAP is expanding to offer “voice of the customer” data via customer satisfaction surveys and is implementing it into the user interface of the DAP Web analytics tool. This will, in effect, allow for the convergence of quantitative and qualitative customer data, propelling the capabilities of the program even further. This feature, currently in the pilot stage, will also be offered to all agencies at no cost.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Web analytics tool and any other tools to be offered in the future by the DAP meet strict security guidelines. The code has undergone multiple security scans, no personally identifiable information is collected, and IP addresses are anonymized.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"creative\"\u003eCreative\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/02/MobileDevicePie.png\"\n    alt=\"An example of a pie chart in DAP\u0026#39;s Web analytics tool depicting the mobile devices used for visits, with the top going to iPhone.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe DAP demonstrates a leap in creativity in both its tools and methodology. Agencies are afforded top-of-the-line, constantly updated, trusted, and secure platforms and tools. But, more importantly, the idea of using centralized accounts to collect data for the entire government shows a momentous shift in the culture surrounding the digital world and metrics. Where previously, digital analytics were run on an ad-hoc basis by web teams using various different tools, the DAP is now creating a simple, powerful, and consistent glimpse into a drastically larger sample of citizens’ interactions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"collaborative-and-helpful\"\u003eCollaborative and Helpful\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe DAP leverages various collaboration and engagement activities to continuously improve. Firstly, the program has inherent stakeholders in 1500+ DAP users (and growing every day) across government. Via the DAP listserv community, a Yammer group, and a designated DAP customer inbox, the program users discuss data analysis tips, new features, technical issues, and troubleshooting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe DAP team receives hundreds of monthly helpdesk requests from current and prospective customers. With a small team of three, the team provides on-going assistance with tool implementation, troubleshooting issues, analytical guidance and reporting support. Additionally, the team offers quarterly in-person \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/digitalgov-university/\"\u003etraining sessions and webinars\u003c/a\u003e to help users drill for data as well as to take note of the most common pain points. As part of the Digital Government Division at GSA, the DAP also asks users to complete a yearly customer experience survey, and the feedback is transformed into actionable plans for the next year. It goes without saying that without the active participation and engagement of the dedicated points of contact across government, the program would not be able to offer the expansive view of government websites that it does.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"efficient-and-effective\"\u003eEfficient and Effective\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEfficiency and effectiveness are the pinnacles of the DAP’s value to government. As a shared government service, the Web analytics tool saves agencies in the area of $150,000 for every advanced Web analytics solution that no longer needs to be implemented. As the program expands to offer solutions like the Customer Satisfaction Survey Tool, the cost savings will continue to increase.  In the past, it was common that individual website teams would employ a Web analytics tool, nonetheless at the level of a sub-agency or agency. The DAP eliminates the need for any team or agency to purchase an analytics solution. In some cases, entire agencies, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and National Park Service, have already removed legacy analytics tools and moved to use the DAP Web analytics tool exclusively because of its quality and cost-savings. Digital analytics solutions are an undeniably important facet of customer experience, and the DAP offers the most robust set of analytics data the government has to offer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"scalable-and-transferable\"\u003eScalable and Transferable\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe DAP provides a model for scalability and transferability that is unmatched. By procuring top-of-the-line solutions and structuring the implementations so they can be shared by all of government, the program has created a synergy of cost savings and improved innovation. The aggregate data collected by the DAP is so much greater than the sum of its participating agency parts, being that it allows a glimpse into the public’s interaction with a huge swath of government websites. In a sense, it is a public service for the public service, and the team hopes that this model will be aggressively adopted for other IT solutions as well.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo learn more about DAP and how to participate in the program, visit the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/guides/dap/\"\u003eDAP overview page\u003c/a\u003e or contact us via \u003ca href=\"mailto:dap@gsa.gov\"\u003eemail\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}