Towards open government through open source software for web analytics: The case of Matomo

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v13i2.650

Keywords:

Open source software, web analytics, government authorities, Matomo

Abstract

Web analytics technologies provide opportunities for organisations to obtain information about users visiting their websites in order to understand and optimise web usage. Use of such technologies often leads to issues related to data privacy and potential lock-in to specific suppliers and proprietary technologies. Use of open source software (OSS) for web analytics can create conditions for avoiding issues related to data privacy and lock-in, and thereby provides opportunities for a long-term sustainable solution for organisations both in the public and private sectors. The paper characterises use of and engagement with OSS projects for web analytics. Specifically, we contribute a characterisation of use of OSS licensed web analytics technologies in Swedish government authorities, and a characterisation of organisational engagement with the Matomo OSS project for web analytics.

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Author Biographies

Jonas Gamalielsson, University of Skövde

Jonas Gamalielsson is a researcher and senior lecturer at the University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden, where he is a member of the Software Systems Research Group. His research interests include open source software and open standards for addressing challenges related to lock-in, interoperability, and longevity of systems. Gamalielsson received his Ph.D. from Heriot Watt University in 2009.

Björn Lundell, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden

Björn Lundell is a professor at the University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden, where he leads the Software Systems Research Group. His research interests include fundamental sociotechnical challenges concerning software systems, focusing on different aspects of lock-in, interoperability, and longevity of systems. Lundell received his Ph.D. from the University of Exeter in 2001.

Simon Butler, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden

Simon Butler is a researcher in the Software Systems Research Group, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden. His research interests include software engineering, open source software, program comprehension, software development tools and practices, and software maintenance. Butler received his Ph.D. in computing from the Open University in 2016.

Christoffer Brax, Combitech AB, Skövde, Sweden

Christoffer Brax is a consultant at Combitech AB, Skövde, Sweden, working in systems engineering, requirements management, systems design and architecture, and IT security. Brax received his Ph.D. from Örebro University in 2011.

Tomas Persson, Digitalist Sweden AB, Stockholm, Sweden

Tomas Persson has a long background in the IT and Web industry and started around 1995. Tomas is part of Digitalist's thought leadership and a frequent speaker at Digitalist's events. In 2005 Tomas started to use Drupal and joined the Drupal community in 2008. Tomas was among the first in Sweden to sell Open Source web solutions to larger companies and has been an ambassador for Drupal in particular since then. Tomas has been a speaker at Webbdagarna, several DrupalCamps and DrupalCons.

Anders Mattsson, Husqvarna AB, Huskvarna, Sweden

Anders Mattsson is the lead architect for Internet of Things systems at Husqvarna, Huskvarna, Sweden. His research interests include strengthening software engineering practices in organizations, software architecture, and model-driven development of embedded real-time systems. Mattsson received his Ph.D. in software engineering from the University of Limerick in 2012.

Tomas Gustavsson, PrimeKey Solutions AB, Solna, Sweden

Tomas Gustavsson is a cofounder and the chief technology officer of PrimeKey Solutions, Solna, Sweden. Gustavsson received his M.Sc. in electrical and computer engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 1994. He is the founder of the open source enterprise public key infrastructure project EJBCA, and contributes to numerous open source projects and is an Open Source Sweden board member.

Jonas Feist, RedBridge AB, Stockholm, Sweden

Jonas Feist is a cofounder of RedBridge, Stockholm, Sweden. His research interests include business models related to OSS, and in cloud computing, particularly the development and application of container technologies. Feist received his M.Sc. in computer science from the Institute of Technology, Linköping University, in 1988.

Erik Lönroth, Scania CV AB, Södertälje, Sweden

Erik Lönroth leads supercomputing technical initiatives at Scania CV, Södertälje, Sweden. His research interests include the development of supercomputer environments for industry, open source software governance, and high-performance computing. Lönroth received his M.Sc. in computer science from Linköping University.

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Published

22.12.2021

How to Cite

Gamalielsson, J., Lundell, B., Butler, S., Brax, C., Persson, T., Mattsson, A., Gustavsson, T., Feist, J., & Lönroth, E. (2021). Towards open government through open source software for web analytics: The case of Matomo. JeDEM - EJournal of EDemocracy and Open Government, 13(2), 133–153. https://doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v13i2.650

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2021): Ongoing Papers

Section

Research Papers

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Jonas Gamalielsson, Björn Lundell, Simon Butler, Christoffer Brax, Tomas Persson, Anders Mattsson, Tomas Gustavsson, Jonas Feist, Erik Lönroth

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.


JeDEM is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal (ISSN: 2075-9517). All journal content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International