Ask HN: Would it be useful to see directed graphs of user journeys?

[ian0]

Im building an analytics tool that aggregates and plots user journeys through an app or website. They are visualized as a directed graph of a user moving between pages/screens.

Im doing this because its quite difficult with traditional tools to get a simple view of how users are using an app, and how this changes over time and by type of user.

Aggregating these graphs to show the paths "most users" take is relatively complex, before I embark on it I was wondering if anyone else would find this useful?

If so I may consider building a more versatile version for others.

[ColinWright]

My advice is to keep in mind the idea of building it for others, but just build it for yourself first. Then you'll have some screenshots to show people to see if they want it.

Others may say they want it, but until you have something to show them, they won't really know. If you want it, build a minimal version, use it, then show it off. Keeping the eventual possible goal in mind may help you avoid dead-ends, and let you extend more easily, avoiding the "full re-implemention" hassle.

[ian0 → ColinWright]

Thanks Colin, sound advice. Its in production for a relatively large app at the moment, but there is no easy way to share access.

Ill take a look at building a small showcase demo.