An OLAM framework for Web usage mining and business intelligence reporting

Web usage mining describes the procedure, which mines Web data (clickstream, purchase information, etc.) to determine usage patterns. Web usage mining is needed in order to understand and serve e-commerce customers better. We present a general OLAM (on-line analytical mining) framework for Web usage mining and business intelligence reporting. Our OLAM framework consists of four phases: data capture, Webhouse construction (clickstream marts), pattern discovery and pattern evaluation. We describe the problems and challenging issues in each phase in detail and provide a general approach and guidelines to Web usage mining and business intelligence reporting for e-commerce.