Studying the Dialogue Between Users and Developers of Free Apps in the Google Play Store
- 1. Studying the Dialogue Between Users and Developers of Free Apps in the Google Play Store Journal First Presentation | Empirical Software Engineering Ahmed E. Hassan Safwat Hassan Cor-Paul Bezemer Chakkrit (Kla) Tantithamthavor n
- 2. We study user-developer interactions through the distribution and rating mechanisms of the Google Play Store 2 How developers leverage the distribution mechanism to publish emergency updates
- 3. We study user-developer interactions through the distribution and rating mechanisms of the Google Play Store 3 How developers leverage the distribution mechanism to publish emergency updates The dialogue between users and developers
- 4. Mobile app stores offer rich data 4 The Google Play Store has around 3.6 million apps March 2, 2018 Need to fix this update, it keeps on freezing. User
- 5. For many years, developers were not able to respond to user reviews 5 October 14, 2015 After listening to one podcast, sometimes I want to go back and listen to it again. Where can I find the old shows that I have already listened to? User
- 6. Since recently, developers can engage in a dialogue with the reviewer 6 October 14, 2015 After listening to one podcast, sometimes I want to go back and listen to it again. Where can I find the old shows that I have already listened to? User The app doesn't delete episode articles. If you don't see them it means that you pressed on the toolbar 'eye' button to hide read content. Press once more to display them. Dev
- 7. Since recently, developers can engage in a dialogue with the reviewer 7 October 14, 2015 After listening to one podcast, sometimes I want to go back and listen to it again. Where can I find the old shows that I have already listened to? User October 16, 2015 After talking to support, my questions were answered. It's a good app User The app doesn't delete episode articles. If you don't see them it means that you pressed on the toolbar 'eye' button to hide read content. Press once more to display them. Dev
- 8. Analyzing the dialogue between users and developers 8 2) What are the common patterns of developer responses? 1) What is the impact of responding to user reviews on the review rating? 3) What drives a developer to respond?
- 9. A summary of the studied dataset 9 > 2K Apps > 355K Changes in reviews > 128K Developer responses > 4M Reviews
- 10. There is a great benefit in responding to reviews 10 Six times more likely to lead to a rating increase
- 11. There is a great benefit in responding to reviews 11 In 84% of the cases of rating increase, users increase their rating to four stars or five stars Six times more likely to lead to a rating increase
- 12. We identified three main reasons for rating increase 12 Developer guides the user to solve the reported issue without having to deploy an app update 34 %
- 13. We identified three main reasons for rating increase 13 Developer guides the user to solve the reported issue without having to deploy an app update 34 % 24 % Developer deploys an update to address the reported issue
- 14. We identified three main reasons for rating increase 14 13 % Developer guides the user to solve the reported issue without having to deploy an app update 34 % 24 % Developer deploys an update to address the reported issue Details of the solution are communicated outside the store
- 15. Analyzing the dialogue between users and developers 15 2) What are the common patterns of developer responses? 1) What is the impact of responding to user reviews on the review rating? 3) What drives a developer to respond?
- 16. Our approach for identifying the common patterns of developer responses 16 Step 1: Collect metrics We collected 6 metrics: Review title length, Review text length, Days since last release, Review rating, Positive sentiment, Negative sentiment.
- 17. Our approach for identifying the common patterns of developer responses 17 Step 2: Build model for every app Step 1: Collect metrics We built 415 models.
- 18. Our approach for identifying the common patterns of developer responses 18 Step 2: Build model for every app Step 3: Extract the key features for each model Step 1: Collect metrics We extracted 12 key features for each model.
- 19. Our approach for identifying the common patterns of developer responses 19 Step 2: Build model for every app Step 3: Extract the key features for each model Step 4: Cluster the models Step 1: Collect metrics
- 20. We identified three patterns of developer responses 20 Only negative reviews
- 21. We identified three patterns of developer responses 21 Negative or longer reviews Only negative reviews
- 22. We identified three patterns of developer responses 22 Negative or longer reviews Only negative reviews Reviews which are posted shortly after the latest release
- 23. Analyzing the dialogue between users and developers 23 2) What are the common patterns of developer responses? 1) What is the impact of responding to user reviews on the review rating? 3) What drives a developer to respond?
- 24. Our approach for studying what drives a developer to respond 24 • We manually read a statistically representative random sample of user- developer interaction episodes. • We study the contents of responses to understand better what drives developers to respond to reviews
- 25. We identified four main drivers for responding 25 Thank the user63%
- 26. We identified four main drivers for responding 26 Thank the user63% Ask for more details45%
- 27. We identified four main drivers for responding 27 Provide guidance25% Thank the user63% Ask for more details45%
- 28. We identified four main drivers for responding 28 Provide guidance25% Thank the user63% Ask for more details45% Ask for endorsement24%
- 29. We identified four main drivers for responding 29 Provide guidance25% Thank the user63% Ask for more details45% Ask for endorsement24%
- 30. For provide guidance, we observed that similar responses can be used to provide FAQs 30 AppLock The user asks how to use the “AppLock” app to lock other apps “Please open phone settings security apps with usage access enable AppLock” User Dev 520
- 31. For provide guidance, we observed that similar responses can be used to provide FAQs 31 PicsArt The user complains that the app is very slow “Hi Vincent this issue can sometimes be solved by clearing the cache. To do so go to your device’s Settings - Apps - PicsArt and tap ‘Clear data’ and ‘Clear cache’ User Dev 271 AppLock The user asks how to use the “AppLock” app to lock other apps “Please open phone settings security apps with usage access enable AppLock” User Dev 520
- 32. 32
- 33. 33
- 34. 34
- 35. 35
Editor's Notes
- #11: Decrease = 942 (942/11813) = 8% In 84% of the increase cases users increase the rating to 4 or 5 stars.
- #12: Decrease = 942 (942/11813) = 8% In 84% of the increase cases users increase the rating to 4 or 5 stars.
- #21: 1 56% 2) 23% 3) 12% 4) 11%
- #22: 1 56% 2) 23% 3) 12% 4) 11%
- #23: 1 56% 2) 23% 3) 12% 4) 11%
- #25: dom sample of 347 responses from the selected 3,431 responses
- #29: Only in 3 out of 83 developer responses, users change their review after a developer asks for a rating increase and in only two cases the rating actually increases. 2%
- #31: Check the alignment
- #32: Check the alignment
- #33: Add your name and contact email
- #34: Add your name and contact email
- #35: Add your name and contact email
- #36: Add your name and contact email
- #37: Add your name and contact email