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Default Attribution Model Setting - How It Works & Why It Fails

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Overview

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How It’s Supposed to Work

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1. Storage Location

mediasource_click_priority = models.CharField(max_length=80, null=True, blank=True)

• “Any Click”
• “First Click”
• “Last Click”
• “Equal Weight”
• “View Through Attribution”

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2. The Data Is Already Calculated

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3. How Views Use the Setting

mediasource_click_priority = Client.objects.get(client_id=client_id, is_active=True).mediasource_click_priority
if mediasource_click_priority == 'Any Click':
    mediasource_priority = 'all'
elif mediasource_click_priority == 'First Click':
    mediasource_priority = 'first'
elif mediasource_click_priority == 'Last Click':
    mediasource_priority = 'last'
elif mediasource_click_priority == 'Equal Weight':
    mediasource_priority = 'equal'

if attribution == 'First Click':
    SelectSubQry = f''' sum(first_click_revenue)/100 as revenue '''
elif attribution == 'Last Click':
    SelectSubQry = f''' sum(last_click_revenue)/100 as revenue '''
elif attribution == 'Equal Weight':
    SelectSubQry = f''' sum(linear_click_revenue)/100 as revenue '''
else:  # Any Click
    SelectSubQry = f''' sum(any_click_revenue)/100 as revenue '''

SELECT media_source, {SelectSubQry}
FROM interaction_insight_summary
WHERE event_date BETWEEN %s AND %s

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Where It Works Correctly

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1. MOAT (Mother of All Tables)

• ✅ Reads mediasource_click_priority from database
• ✅ Uses it as default if user hasn’t manually selected
• ✅ Allows user override via dropdown

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2. Campaign Performance

• ✅ Reads setting
• ✅ Applies to queries
• ✅ User can override

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3. Ad Performance

• ✅ Reads setting
• ✅ Applies to queries
• ✅ User can override

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4. Email Reports

• ✅ Reads setting
• ✅ Dynamically builds SQL with correct column name

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Where It FAILS

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Revenue Comparison Page (PRIMARY ISSUE)

request.GET['attribution'] = 'Any Click'  # ← HARDCODED!

• Completely ignores mediasource_click_priority setting
• Always uses “Any Click” attribution
• User cannot override this behavior
• Leads to inflated revenue numbers (e.g., $298K vs$255K actual)

1. No dropdown to change attribution
2. Doesn’t respect system setting
3. Shows overcounted revenue by default
4. Confuses users comparing to other reports

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Why Changing the Setting Appears to Do Nothing

• Setting is saved to database immediately
• MOAT, Campaign Performance, Ad Performance pages use new setting on next load
• Email reports use new setting

• Revenue Comparison page ignores it (hardcoded)
• No frontend notification of change
• No automatic page refresh
• Some cached queries may persist for a short time

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How the Setting SHOULD Work

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Current Implementation (Broken)

User changes setting → Saved to DB → Revenue Comparison ignores it → User confused

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Correct Implementation

User changes setting → Saved to DB → All pages respect it → Consistent experience

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Technical Root Cause

1. Backend stores setting (mediasource_click_priority in DB)
2. Most views read setting (lines 62-74, 2565-2570, 3431-3436, 4099-4104)
3. Revenue Comparison hardcodes value (line 8307)
4. No consistency enforcement across views

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Proposed Fixes

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Fix 1: Remove Hardcoded Attribution in Revenue Comparison

request.GET['attribution'] = 'Any Click'  # Hardcoded!

# Get client's default attribution setting
client = Client.objects.get(client_id=client_id)
default_attribution = client.mediasource_click_priority or 'Any Click'

# Allow URL parameter override, otherwise use client default
request.GET['attribution'] = request.GET.get('attribution', default_attribution)

• Respect user’s system setting
• Still allow URL parameter override
• Make Revenue Comparison consistent with other pages

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Fix 2: Add Attribution Dropdown to Revenue Comparison

# Similar to MOAT page (lines 2572-2607)
filtersOptionValList = ['Any Click', 'First Click', 'Last Click', 'Equal Weight']
filtersOptionList = []
for filtersOptionVal in filtersOptionValList:
    if default_attribution == filtersOptionVal:
        filtersOptionList.append({'key': filtersOptionVal, 'value': filtersOptionVal, 'selected': True})
    else:
        filtersOptionList.append({'key': filtersOptionVal, 'value': filtersOptionVal, 'selected': False})

filters = [
    {'name': 'attribution', 'label': 'Attribution', 'type': 'select',
     'options': filtersOptionList, 'value': default_attribution}
]

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Fix 3: Add Setting Change Notification

# File: useraccount/views.py (save handler)
# After saving the setting:
messages.success(request, f'Default attribution updated to {attribution}.
                          Refresh any open reports to see changes.')

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Summary Table

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Conclusion

1. ✅ Data is already calculated - All attribution models exist in the database
2. ✅ Most views work correctly - They read the setting and query the right column
3. ❌ Revenue Comparison is broken - It hardcodes “Any Click” and ignores the setting
4. ❌ No user feedback - System doesn’t indicate which pages respect the setting

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Related Documentation

• See REVENUE_COMPARISON_HARDCODED_ISSUE.md for detailed analysis of the Revenue Comparison hardcoded issue
• See REVENUE_TRACKING_ANALYSIS.md for broader revenue tracking issues