The synthetic monitoring is a testing method based on the simulation of user journeys. Its main aim is to identify performance and reliability problems in order to improve the experience of customers and web users. It provides an overall view of a site or application, and encourages reactivity in the event of anomaly or incident detection.
But how does synthetic monitoring work in practice? What are its strengths and weaknesses? 2Be-FFICIENT helps you better understand this type of test, and offers you a synthetic monitoring solution for active supervision supervision of your user paths!
How does synthetic monitoring work?
The synthetic monitoring consists of reproducing the behavior of users of a site or mobile mobile application by running various tests. Data is then collected to identify performance and availability problems.
This technique is called "proactive" because it simulates traffic, which differentiates it from passive supervision, which relies solely on real user experience.
This simulation is also useful for :
- test the functionality of an online service ;
- check a system's IT resilience in the face of various scenarios (e.g. traffic overload);
- anticipate incidents and problems that could adversely affect the user experience.
To operate, synthetic monitoring :
- uses automated, customized scripts that reproduce typical user paths. They are run at regular intervals via different zones to monitor these routes at each stage;
- collects and analyzes test data to identify any errors or anomalies. If an error is detected, a second monitoring test is performed. If the same error is detected, it is confirmed;
- sends real-time alerts when a problem is detected
This type of test can also be repeated when applications are updated, or before the launch of a major commercial operation on a website, for example. The aim is to ensure their availability and guarantee a smooth user experience.
What are the different types of synthetic monitoring?
This proactive monitoring of the user journey comes in different types. Here are the main ones.
Transactional monitoring
Transactional monitoring is an advanced form of synthetic monitoring. It checks the critical functionalities of an online service (adding products to the shopping cart, validating payment, for example). This test ensures that users can perform all their tasks on the site or application, and thus complete their actions.
Availability monitoring
This type of test is designed to verify the accessibility and operability of a site, application or service. It is relatively simple, and tests the response of servers to user requests.
Performance monitoring
The purpose of this test is to measure the efficiency of applications and systems, page loading speed, response times and the performance of each element.
Load simulation
This complementary method to synthetic monitoring is used to assess the ability of a site or application to remain stable during a major peak in activity. Intense artificial traffic is simulated to verify the system's ability to remain stable.
API testing
This monitoring ensures that application programming interfaces (APIs) function correctly, and that they interact with other services. Simulations are therefore carried out to measure their responsiveness.
Whatever script is used, supervision is active, enabling errors to be detected before they affect real users. For each test, several control points are targeted within the same network. The data collected provides valuable information for improving the user experience.
What are the advantages and limitations of synthetic monitoring?
Synthetic monitoring consists in carrying out automated tests based on scenarios to assess the availability and performance of a site or application. It enables you to anticipate errors, incidents or breakdowns, so as to prevent them from occurring and adversely affecting the user experience. There are several advantages to this kind of monitoring:
- proactive detection of potential problems, encouraging rapid resolution;
- information on the performance of an online service worldwide
- assessing the impact of updates on the user experience
- Improving the user experience to ensure fluidity and efficiency, and thus the satisfaction of Internet users and customers of a site or application.
However, like all active supervision methods, it also has certain limitations:
- test scenarios are automated and predefined. They are therefore unable to detect anomalies occurring outside these scripts;
- tests simulate user journeys and reproduce them as closely as possible, but they do not always conform to reality and there may be some differences with actual performance;
- geographical sensitivity, as synthetic monitoring is limited by server locations. To obtain complete results, it is therefore necessary to monitor many locations;
- Monitoring may be active and help anticipate certain problems, but it can't always prevent them from occurring. Nor does it detect safety problems.
To compensate for the limitations of this type of supervision, other monitoring methods, such as website monitoring, can also be implemented.
Why use synthetic monitoring?
A poor user experience is detrimental to customer satisfaction and loyalty. That's why it's essential to smooth and optimize the user experience of a site or application, which is what synthetic monitoring makes possible. Synthetic monitoring makes it possible to :
- improve the availability, reliability and accessibility of an online service - be it a website or a mobile application - which contributes to a company's productivity;
- avoid user dissatisfaction and complaints that can damage a company's reputation;
- quickly resolve breakdowns and incidents, and find solutions before users are even aware of them;
- benefit from interesting data to evaluate service performance and compare it with that of competitors;
- simulate the operation of complex transactions and actions, to ensure their proper execution.
When this synthetic monitoring is focused on the user experience, as 2Be-FFICIENT offers, you benefit from a proactive, flexible solution that contributes to the efficiency of your site or application. And that's even truer when these few best practices are followed:
- definition of realistic scenarios that best reflect Internet users' behaviour and interactions with your service;
- frequent updating of automated scripts to adapt to changes in user experience;
- carry out monitoring tests on several browsers, devices, geographical areas and under different conditions to obtain the maximum amount of data.
Why choose 2Be-FFICIENT for your synthetic monitoring tests?
At 2Be-FFICIENT, the user experience is at the heart of all our solutions, to help you improve and optimize it. Synthetic monitoring is no exception.
What sets our solution apart from those of our competitors is its innovative approach, based on :
- site and application performance ;
- the user journey.
Today, this approach is essential, as user experience is a key factor in satisfaction and loyalty. If you want to make your website or application profitable, and ensure the long-term future of your online business, your customers and web users need to be able to carry out their online actions without a hitch.
With synthetic monitoring 2Be-FFICIENT, you get a complete solution with :
- simulation scenarios very close to reality;
- multi-browser and multi-environment testing ;
- real-time alerts when problems or anomalies are detected and confirmed by our automated systems;
- dedicated, responsive customer support ;
- active surveillance ;
- customizable dashboards that bring together all the data and performance of your site or application.
Interested? Contact us to find out more, and request a demo to see for yourself!
