Personalization

Scope for 5.3

First steps for personalization are

• Implicit personalization (unknown person, e.g. geo-location, device)
• Explicit personalization (known user with profile)
• Segmentation of visitors based on categories, visit data, user profiles
• Serve content based on segment
  
  • Using dynamic components / page variants
• Pages/components show contents from pools
• Great previews
• Simple impersonation

What it will not be in

• No behavior analysis
• Complex content tools
• Better editors for authors

Terminology

Trait: One aspect/criterion of the personalization, i.e. time of day, user profile, location, category or a combination of the before. A trait should/will be taggable to any content.
Constraint: A condition where a trait has a specific value (or value range).
ConstraintSet: A condition where multiple traits have a specific value (or value range).
Segment (audience): A single contraint or a set of constraints.
Segmentation: The process of combining/assembling traits into a segment.
(Page) Variant: A variant of a page associated with a segment. Such a page will always have a master-page.

Variation (template variation): A variation of a template, see: Configuring variations in a page template.

Implementation

Trait

• Most atomic facet/characteristic/property relevant for segmentation
• Will consist of a POJO class
• TraitDetector will implement a Filter and will reside somewhere in the filter chain (depending on needs)
  
  • Stores instance of Trait class in TraitCollector
    
    • or to put it differently: a Value of a Trait
  • One seperate filter per trait (and not a delegating super filter)
• TraitVoter decides whether current request "matches"
  
  • evaluator for traits (more specific: for trait classes)
  • might extend AbstractTraitVoter (that requires TraitCollector)
  • is used to "build" a constraint

(UI) elements of a traits

• an associated UI element (custom control) to create a trait voter (constraint)
  
  • to assemble them in a ConstraintSet or segment
  • to target contents for this specific category
• and another UI element (custom control) to create a value of a trait (for impersonation)
• relevant input of user is a value or an interval of a specific type (date, string, long) (operator: = < > <= >= ≠)
• label that gives an idea of what the trait voters "evaluates" String.format("Country ='%s'; %s", "ch", "Switzerland")
  
  • use i18nIzer?

TraitCollector

• Simple map to "collect" all trait instances of one request/visit
  • This map can only contain one instance of a specific trait
• See: Concept - Personalization - AggregationState vs. @Injected + @LocalScoped new object (TraitCollector)

ConstraintSet

• A set of (multiple) contraints
• Consists of a VoterSet and thus multiple Voters
• ConstraintSet will be stored at page variant's level (for ease of activation)
• ConstraintSetRegistry registers all ConstraintSets upon module startup
• Are managed by the system (in contrast to a segment, which is user-manager in a SegmentationApp)

Segment

• Collection of shared traits (might be just one)
• Is a ConstraintSet(extends)
  
  • But has a name & description
• Can be considered as an "audience"
• SegmentEvaluator will choose if current traits in TraitCollector match this segment
  
  • Uses combination (and/or/not/etc.) of TraitVoters
• SegmentManager will return a list of available segments
  
  • getSegments()
  • getSegmentByPage(Node node)
  • getSegmentBySite(Site site)?
  • getAvailableSegmentsByPage(Node node)
• System-managed vs. User-managed segements
  
  • User-managed: user creates segments in Segmentation App (editable, visible)
  • System-managed: implicit ConstraintSets created at-page-level (i.e. by adding an additional trait, for example date: visible from-to)

Segmentation

• The task of creating segments

Basics

• Will be done in SegmentationApp (SegmentManagementApp)
• Custom UI for App & Dialog
• Dialog will be customizable just like any other Magnolia dialog
  
  • Consists of TraitVoter (Constraint) UI elements
• Segments will be "structurable" in folders
• UI for SegmentationApp and segmentation dialog is currently planned by Andreas

Actions in SegmentationApp

• Create/edit segment
• Create/rename folder

New UI elements in SegmentationApp

• tbd

Variants

• Any content can have a variant
• Scope for now variant of a page
• Basics applicable for any content, App+UI bound to page variants

Basics

• A variant of a page associated/connected with a segment
• Prefixed (i.e. variant-#) subnode of master page
• Mixin: mgnl:variant (thus, can be used for other contents in the future too, not just mgnl:page)
• Properties (both mandatory):
  
  • mgnl:variationOf: single-valued reference (weak reference?) and
  • mgnl:assignedSegments: multi-valued String or
  • mgnl:constraintSet: sub node with constraint set attached
• Creating a page variant delegates to interface
  
  • For 5.3 creates a full copy of the master
  • Future: might be using "real" JCR references
• A page variant can have multiple segments whereas the master page will never have a segment
• In a first stept we will not support nested page variants

Actions in PageEditor

• Creation/modification of page variants will done in PageEditor
• Tree View
  
  • Create page variant
    
    • We need a separate action as it should be possible to target pages to specific traits without creating a segment
      
      • creates ConstraintSet at page-variant-level
  • Assign/add segment
    
    • Will show available segments to choose from
    • create variant of master page
    • and store selected segment in variant
• Edit View:
  
  • Change segment(s)
  • Assign Segment(s) (add segment to page variant)
  • Delete page variant

New UI elements in PageEditor

• New UI element VariantSwitcher
  
  • Requires SegmentManager
  • Above green edit bar in PageEditor
  • Edit mode:
    
    • Screenshot:
    • Switch inbetween master and variant pages
    • Will only show segments linked to page variants
  • Preview mode:
    
    • Screenshot:
    • Is sticky, i.e. will always be displayed on top of edit bar even if page doesn't have a page variant
    • Shows all available segments in system to be able to preview all of them

Dynamic content elements/components

• Custom component models that query content by
  
  • getting the relevant trait in the TraitCollector and
  • searching (JCR-Query-2) for elements that are "tagged" with value
  • i.e.: SELECT e.* FROM [mgnl:events] AS e WHERE e.tags IN ('tag-A', 'tag-B', 'tag-C');
• Tagging will happen just like selecting a (multiple) category(ies) and adding it to an element

Rendering

• Introduce new ContentDecoratorwhich is Personalization-aware
  • This includes a NodeWrapper and a PropertyWrapper
    • both completely "hide" whether a master page or a variant is currently being rendered
  • Uses SegmentEvaluator to get the best-suiting segment
  • And will use VariantChooser to select the appropriate page variant (subnode of master-page linked to segment) and wrap it
• (Freemarker/STK/*)Renderer renders page variant

Preview

• Allows to preview a page in all its available variants or, put it in a different way, in all the segments assigned to that page. 
• Works in PageEditor while in preview mode.
• See: New UI elements in PageEditor

Impersonation 

• Browse/preview site/pages "as if"
• So called Personas usually match a segment
• Simpler impersonation will be achieved by setting ValueSets of traits (this could be just one value: i.e. the date, see Trait)
• Storing trait instances in TraitCollector (PreviewFilter) and overriding previously detected ones
• Separate App/View

Cache

See Personalization and Cache.

Proposed module structure

• module-personalization (reactor)
  
  • module-personalization-integration
  • module-personalization-samples
  • module-personalization-stk

groupId: info.magnolia.personalization

Known limitations

Reverse proxy / third party caching with personalization might be an issue.

Stories

See BL-206 - Getting issue details... STATUS

Appendix

Relation of traits, constraints(sets), value(sets) and segments