How Application Monitoring Reveals User Engagement and Usage Rates
December 9, 2014 SamandArthur.com

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There are many reasons why a system administrator implements an application monitoring solution. While many of these reasons involve monitoring and testing the inner components of an application, uncovering user engagement and usage rates is one of the most under-used, yet most powerful, capabilities of monitoring solutions. If you’re interested in enhancing the methods in which user information is gathered and used for improvements, you should ask how your application monitoring solution can satisfy this end-user curiosity. Whether you know it or not, almost all application monitoring solutions provide insights capable of revealing user engagement and usage rates.

When is the Application Most Active?

The first step in understanding user engagement and usage rates is to determine when the application is most active. By isolating an exact time frame, you’re able to determine when traffic to the application is at its heaviest. This is important for several reasons. When you understand when the application is mostly used, you’re able to adjust inner components (both physical and virtual) to better handle this increase in traffic. By understanding when an application is mostly used, you’re able to better adjust marketing ventures toward this demographic. In order to understand the metrics in the best possible way, it might be a good idea to use some type of a web app monitoring program. For example, if application usage is at its highest Monday through Friday during normal business hours, you’d understand that the bulk of your visitors are working professionals. Therefore, you can adjust marketing content delivery until these peak times, when more users are likely to review its contents.

Which Application Features are Most Used? Which Are Barely Used?

By freeing up an application of unnecessary features, you’re not only reducing its “weight,” but also providing a more streamlined interface for users. While you may feel a certain feature is necessary, if it’s rarely used by users it may be affecting the overall user experience. Moreover, depending on the feature, it may be slowing down the application. Regardless, understanding what features are most popular, and which are least popular, offers developers great insight toward application improvements and upgrades.

Do Users Prefer the New or Old Application Version?

When you’ve implemented a new version of an application, it’s essential to monitor user engagement and usage rates. This information clarifies whether or not the upgrade was necessary. In the worst case scenario, an application upgrade is not attractive to users and their usage rates will drop off. When you receive this data, it’s easy to understand whether or not you need to make adjustments to the interface or operation of an application. However, if you notice application usage increases after an upgrade, you know you’ve made the proper decision.

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The Real Reasons Why You Need Web Application Monitoring
December 9, 2014 SamandArthur.com

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When it comes to the performance and operation of Web applications, the elements that influence its functionality are often fare more complicated that administrator’s are aware of. Have your applications suffered from decreased performance or a lack of functionality? If your digital enterprise relies on applications to drive traffic and connect with users, then it’s imperative that you safeguard these vital elements through an effective and comprehensive monitoring solution. While there are literally hundreds of various monitoring solutions available to enterprises of all sizes, not all of these tools are created equal. This being noted, the reasons as to why you need to adopt a monitoring solutions are universal.

Continuous Uptime and Availability

In the digital marketplace, the reliability of your applications, and website as a whole, determines your overall success. Because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of competitors vying for the attention of consumers, a solid and stable digital environment must be your top priority. The reason? A recent study found over 70 percent of Web users will immediately click out of an application if it experiences a lack of functionality or a drop in performance. In some cases, such as with shopping carts, a lack of stability leads users to believe that your site may have been compromised, which is a guarantee that they’ll never visit again.

Remaining Competitive

As stated above, in order to remain competitive within the digital marketplace, your applications must experience the same, if not greater, reliability as your top competitors. The only problem with this scenario is many websites do not feature the resources to continually monitor stability and performance of their top competitors. Application monitoring tools offer a solution to this problem. Most software suites allow for the creation of competitor reports. That is, the performance and stability of your top competitor websites are monitored and reports regarding their response times, availability and traffic flow are created and delivered to administrators. So, at this point, it should be pretty clear that taking the time to implement a web application performance monitoring system can save not only money, but customer frustration; both of which can improve a company’s bottom line.

Instant Error Notifications

One of the most influential ways application monitoring tools support a constant and reliable enterprise is through its instant error notification alerts. The sooner an enterprise is notified of an error, the sooner the error can be fixed. In our modern digital marketplace, this is imperative, as it ensures application errors and issues are corrected before they have time to alter end-user experiences. Therefore, it’s vital that your monitoring solution be outfitted with the latest error notification and alert system.

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Forecasting User Impact and Revenue With Web Application Monitoring
December 10, 0204 SamandArthur.com

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Perhaps one of the most common misconceptions when it comes to Web application software is its inability to work with predictive forecasting. While there are programs designed specifically for this purpose, the data points collected via a monitoring solution can provide detailed forecasting insights. Predicting future user involvement and its associated revenue is an essential step in developing future application versions. By utilizing the monitoring and reporting capabilities found in the majority of Web application monitoring solutions, administrator’s may gain an understanding regarding current revenue streams and necessary adjustments to support continuous user involvement and monetary success.

Impact of Newly Released Features

As your application upgrades, and new features are added, it’s imperative to utilize select data points to determine the success of this new feature. In terms of user impact, is the newly released application feature/version maintaining its baseline activity levels? Have select portions of the application undergone traffic changes? Are these changes positive or negative? Data collected via a monitoring solution provides answers to the aforementioned questions. With this information, system administrator’s may determine whether or not updated versions are a success.

What User Demographic Generates the Greatest Impact

Regardless of the purpose of your application, there are bound to be specific segments of your user pool that interact with the application at a higher rate than others. These heavy-users typically generate the most revenue for applications. Therefore, it’s imperative to isolate this demographic from the general user base. By studying and understanding the activity level and behavior of these select users, developer’s may adjust the application appearance, flow and features to attract more like-minded users and retain current users. Many application administrator’s find that by comparing user activity reports collected via a monitoring solution against other variables, such as overall application traffic and revenue reports, they’re given a better understanding of which user segment produces the most activity and revenue. Once this information is identified, administrator’s may move on to the next section. There are a number of solutions that can help you satisfy your target demographic, such as EveryStep’s web application monitoring tool, or even a paid tool like CopperEgg.

Where Should Focus Be Placed?

Perhaps one of the most important questions an application developer can ask himself is where his focus should be placed. In terms of user impact and revenue, should developers focus on their most lucrative demographic, as discussed above. Or, should developers primarily focus on creating an “all-inclusive” application that attracts a wider scope of users? This question can only be answered on a case-by-case basis. This being noted, data collected and reported through an application monitoring solution can provide necessary insights regarding user activity and impact. When compared against financial reports, administrator’s are given a clearer picture regarding where their focus should be placed.

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