Add the Ability to automatically set 'Session Number' and 'Event Hit Depth' dimension in AEP

[#1]

As a long-time user of Adobe Analytics, I would like to be able to fully analyze my user's behavior within CJA. CJA data views can consist of one data set or several data sets, but as I understand it the concept a 'web visit' is being expanded and re-labeled a 'session' within CJA. It seems obvious that if the data set has a 'time series' component, then the concept of 'sequencing' applies.

As such, I propose that we add, at the AEP identity level, the ability for AEP to automatically add in both an 'Event Hit Depth' and 'Session Number' dimension to be used in our CJA data views. For example, let's assume a PERSON went to a company's website (on day 1), bought something at the company's retail store (on day 2) and called the company's customer service hotline (on day 3).

Assuming all data is in AEP and all data sources are connected via that 'identify' feature of AEP, then AEP should be able to define the 'Session Number' based on all the known data in AEP and should be able to determine and correctly sequence all the 'event' data per the time series timestamp within a single ‘session’.
For example,
Web Data Set:
Day 1 - time stamp 1 - user on the website home page --- AEP should be able to set 'Session Number' dimension = 1 (based on all data in known AEP) & should be able to set ‘Event Hit Depth’ dimension = 1 (based on all the event data for that session)
Day 1 - time stamp 2 - user on website product page --- AEP should be able to set 'Session Number dimension = 1 & Event Hit Depth dimension = 2
then
Retail Data Set
Day 2 - time stamp 3 - user's retail POS transaction --- AEP should be able to set 'Session Number' dimension = 2 & Event Hit Depth dimension = 1
then
Call Center Data Set
Day 3 - time stamp 4 - user's call center data -- AEP should be able to set 'Session Number' dimension = 3 & Event Hit Depth dimension = 1

It's all about establishing a 'session start time' and then classifying sessions based on the sequence of those timestamps and similarly within a data set's 'session' using the 'event time stamp' to classify the 'Event Hit Depth' based on the sequence of those time stamps, which I suspect can only be done at the ‘Identity’ level, after all the data gets ingested and gets ‘processed’.

Being able to sequence user's behavior across data sets ONLY within the 'flow diagram' visual simply isn't good enough; not for our Enablement Teams, not for our QA Teams, and definitely not good enough for our Analysis & Insights teams.

[#2]

Hey all - Just following up on this idea.  I was able to figure out away of creating my own 'session_number' and 'event_hit_depth' numbers via the AEP SQL Query tool.  The trick is to make sure your timestamp fields can be used in calculations.  You also have to 'hard code' your own definition of a 'session expiration' and you also have to determine what datasets you want to include in your calculations.

For example, you could create these field in each data set independently.  That way when you create your CJA Dataview you would have them available in your reports.  But that approach implies that if your CJA Dataview combined multiple data sets together, then you'll have multiple versions of these field.  In other words, your definition of these fields will be data set and data source specific.  Meaning, you'll know first session, second session, third session to the website and first session, second session and third session to your call center independently of the entire customer journey.  Which could be helpful and pretty much mirrors what we have in AA today.  But this approach could also be applied to any time series dataset, not just web data.

But I think the solution we'll all be looking for is a way to know session number and event hit depth independent of data source.  Meaning, we want to know first session was on web, second session was via call center, and third session was on web again.  With that goal in my, my solution requires you to create your own 'union dataset' within AEP, not CJA.  CJA by design will create a 'union dataset' if you set up a connection to multiple data sets.  But CJA doesn't currently have the ability to create 'session number' or 'event hit depth' (hence the reason for this idea ticket).  But if you create your own 'union dataset' in AEP, you can then run your own SQL and add these new fields to the AEP union dataset.  Then all you have to do is Connect the AEP union dataset to CJA and the dimension will be available for you.

I still believe there is a need for a solution in CJA that will allow us to create dimensions like these.  There is also dimensions like Days since Last Visit and Day since First Visit, that again we need in CJA and we need it applied to our 'union data set'.  But since that's not possible yet, there is away of doing this via the AEP SQL Query Tool.

Please keep this Idea open as I do think it would a major plus to AEP/CJA if Adobe's Product Team would be able to support this construct.