From StatsJam

[edit] What is ingimp?

ingimp is an instrumented version of the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) that, with the exception of an additional start screen, functions the same as the official version of GIMP. However, in contrast to the official version, ingimp automatically collects data about how GIMP is used (e.g., commands used, sizes of images worked on, etc.) and transmits these data back to this website.

Importantly, the goal of ingimp is not to discover usability problems with the software, though it is intended to contribute to usability efforts. There are much better ways to uncover usability problems than through software instrumentation. For example, observational studies and heuristic evaluations both rapidly uncover major usability issues. In fact, there is a dedicated group of GIMP project members using these types of techniques to work on improving GIMP's usability. See http://gui.gimp.org for more information on this effort.

Instead, what ingimp is intended to do is to complement data gleaned from usability studies, mailing lists, and bug reports, to paint a picture of how the software is actually used in practice -- not in a laboratory study, not by people willing to make the effort to post to a mailing list or to Bugzilla, not by developers -- but by ordinary, everyday people who use GIMP to get work done. True, people must first download and install ingimp. But this is a one-time, relatively low-effort requirement. And as can be seen within ingimp's Stats Jam site, hundreds of people have already done this, from around the world. Thus, with the data collected, there is now the opportunity to peer into the community of users, better understand what parts of GIMP they exercise -- and which parts they don't. Now, when questions arise about how people use the software, the types of computing setups they have, the types of images they work on, and so on, one need not rely on speculation, gut instinct, and personal experience alone -- ingimp's Stats Jam can help answer these questions about the user base.

[edit] What is Stats Jam?

Stats Jam is an extension to MediaWiki that enables one to embed SQL queries in wiki text and specify how the data should be rendered (e.g., graphs, charts, tables, etc.). Stats Jam was developed to support the ingimp effort, but is a generic extension that anyone can use. See the Stats Jam project page, http://www.statsjam.org, for more information.

The intent of Stats Jam is to open the data analysis process to the entire public, to support public discourse surrounding the analysis, interpretation, and implications of the ingimp data set. From the onset, the goal of ingimp has always been to research ways that aspects of the usability process could be opened to the community, enabling people to participate at various levels of effort, without creating new burdens or responsibilities to existing project members. Simply using ingimp provides one way to contribute. Now, Stats Jam adds additional ways: The barrier to data analysis has been lowered, enabling people with expertise in SQL and data analysis to mine the data. But even if you don't know SQL, you can contribute by commenting on the analyses, helping to sharpen them, adding new insights, highlighting their relevance, or how they could be improved.