INTERACTIVE PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT THROUGH THE USE OF VARIANTS AND DATA GATHERING REPORTS IN A SYSTEM THAT CAN BE UPDATED ON THE FLY
Techniques for interactive product improvement through the use of variants and data gathering reports in a system that can be updated on the fly are disclosed. In some embodiments, interactive product improvement through the use of variants and data gathering reports in a system that can be updated on the fly includes processing a manifest to determine that a plug-in that includes a plurality of variants is available; randomly selecting a variant for the plug-in to automatically install on a device; and automatically installing the plug-in, in which the randomly selected variant is executed at run-time.
1 - 20 . (canceled)
21 . A method comprising:
determining, by a processor, that a plurality of variants of a plug-in are available for installation on a device;
selecting, by the processor, a variant of the plug-in of the plurality of variants of the plug-in for installation on the device, the variant of the plug-in selected based on a predefined allocation scheme that specifies how the plurality of variants of the plug-in are to be allocated for installation on a plurality of devices; and
installing the selected variant of the plug-in on the device.
22 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the selected variant facilitates a feedback loop for providing interactive product improvement through a use of variants and data gathering reports.
23 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
monitoring user activity that indicates interaction with at least one of the plurality of variants of the plug-in;
generating a report based on the monitored user activity; and
sending the report to a server.
24 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising modifying the predefined allocation scheme to change a percentage allocation for each of the plurality of variants based on the monitored user activity.
25 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising modifying the predefined allocation scheme to designate one of the plurality of variants as a default variant for the plug-in.
26 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected variant requires a license to execute.
27 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected variant requires a license to execute, and wherein additional payment is required to access the selected variant.
28 . A system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to the processor,
wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium that perform operations comprising:
selecting a variant of the plug-in of the plurality of variants of the plug-in for installation on the device, the variant of the plug-in selected based on a predefined allocation scheme that specifies how the plurality of variants of the plug-in are to be allocated for installation on a plurality of devices; and
installing the selected variant of the plug-in on the device.
29 . The system recited in claim 8 , wherein the selected variant facilitates a feedback loop for providing interactive product improvement through a use of variants and data gathering reports.
30 . The system recited in claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium that perform operations comprising:
monitoring user activity that indicates interaction with at least one of the plurality of variants of the plug-in;
generating a report based on the monitored user activity; and
sending the report to a server.
31 . The system recited in claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium that perform operations comprising modifying the predefined allocation scheme to change a percentage allocation for each of the plurality of variants based on the monitored user activity.
32 . The system recited in claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium that perform operations comprising modifying the predefined allocation scheme to designate one of the plurality of variants as a default variant for the plug-in.
33 . The system recited in claim 8 , wherein the selected variant requires a license to execute.
34 . The system recited in claim 8 , wherein the selected variant requires a license to execute, and wherein additional payment is required to access the selected variant.
35 . A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
determining that a plurality of variants of a plug-in are available for installation on a device;
selecting a variant of the plug-in of the plurality of variants of the plug-in for installation on the device, the variant of the plug-in selected based on a predefined allocation scheme that specifies how the plurality of variants of the plug-in are to be allocated for installation on a plurality of devices; and
installing the selected variant of the plug-in on the device.
36 . The computer program product recited in claim 15 , wherein the selected variant facilitates a feedback loop for providing interactive product improvement through a use of variants and data gathering reports.
37 . The computer program product recited in claim 15 , wherein the computer program product being embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium further comprises computer instructions for:
monitoring user activity that indicates interaction with at least one of the plurality of variants of the plug-in;
generating a report based on the monitored user activity; and
sending the report to a server.
38 . The computer program product recited in claim 15 , wherein the computer program product being embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium further comprises computer instructions for modifying the predefined allocation scheme to change a percentage allocation for each of the plurality of variants based on the monitored user activity.
39 . The computer program product recited in claim 15 , wherein the computer program product being embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium further comprises computer instructions for modifying the predefined allocation scheme to designate one of the plurality of variants as a default variant for the plug-in.
40 . The computer program product recited in claim 15 , wherein the selected variant requires a license to execute.