A General Tracking and Auditing Architecture for the OpenACS framework

Abstract

The paper describes the Tracking and Auditing Engines (TAE) in process of development for the OpenACS framework through the implementation of a tracking subsystem and an auditing API built upon it. The main theoretical considerations that must fulfill such system are discussed in the paper, specially the differences between the responsibilities and functions for the tracking and auditing processes. The data required and where to get it from the framework, the architecture designed, and the technology to be used in the implementation are also presented. As a practical use of the TAE, the paper presents on-going authors’ research that is based on analyzing dotLRN users’ interactions. These research works will benefit from the audit trails provided by the TAE.