Monitoring the Web 2.0 user experience with AlertSite DéjàClick

by Gary Beerman, AlertSite VP Product Management

For financial services firms, ensuring Web user satisfaction is essential for a successful online strategy, and managing Web site monitoring performance is critical to that success. There's intense pressure to deliver fast, cost-effective online financial services to customers 24/7/365.

The Web is evolving from a collection of independent Web sites to an integrated computing platform offering Web-based applications. Dubbed Web 2.0, it is not a change in Web standards, but rather a shift in how those standards are applied. The real change is that Web applications are now separate elements residing on the primary Web site or distributed among network locations. By using next-generation Web applications, companies can strengthen customer satisfaction and reduce costs.

The Web 2.0 browser is transitioning to utilize such interactive, complex elements as Java, Ajax and Flash, making it difficult to assemble the Web page from a single source. The browser puts together Web pages based upon a combination of parameters defined by the primary server, dynamic clients (Java, etc.) and the user. This affects how a Web-based application works or what it displays.

Web 2.0 Applications Obscure Visibility into Performance

Besides offering a wide range of third-party applications, many companies also have informational tools on their sites, such as mortgage refinancing and retirement-savings calculators. Information regarding a customer's account balance, online payments and more comes from the financial institution's computers, but when a feature of the Web page is supplied by a partner, the brand is that of the Web site owner. If something goes wrong, users think they are on the owner's Web site. The danger is that your revenue and brand reputation are at risk.

For example, many banks provide electronic billing services. When a customer receives his electric bill on the bank's Web site and then links to the electric utility from that page, the interaction is controlled by the electric company. That means customers are in direct contact with the electric company, while appearing to be on the bank's site. And the bank has no information on what took place.

What can you do to protect your brand and your revenue as the Web continues to evolve? DéjàClick^TM with AlertSite's  TrueUser^TM technology can help you meet the challenges of Web 2.0's emerging technologies.

What Is DéjàClick?

DéjàClick is the first-ever, inside-the-browser Web performance monitoring system. It can be used as a free user-experience monitoring tool and as a fee-based Business Transaction Monitoring Service.

As a free browser toolbar add-on, DéjàClick operates as a simulated user on top of the browser. A transaction recorder automatically builds scripts by following the user's click stream. If you record either a simple interaction or a complex session, the resulting script is a detailed outline of each user action or browser event, including all user activity with Flash objects and Ajax-based applications via DéjàClick's TrueScreen^TM

During initial playback, DéjàClick identifies variations between how the script is recorded and how it is playing-and then correlates the content delivered with the content originally recorded. You can modify the script to account for a wide range of factors such as user think-time, network activity, cookie caching, form filling and much more. The Replay Advisor guides you through these choices and recommends changes.

A script can be saved, shared with others and/or uploaded to AlertSite for testing. To download the free version of DéjàClick, go to DéjàClick.

TrueUser Business Transaction Monitoring Service

DéjàClick  scripts can be loaded onto the AlertSite monitoring network in more than 55 global locations. The script operates just as it did when recorded, but now is simulated across a selected network. This ensures there are no problems with your transactions from any of the worldwide locations you have chosen.

The scripts operating on these remote agents have an adaptive playback capability, so they work correctly in the event of small changes in the application, content or software environment. For example, the adaptive playback capability automatically detects and adjusts to cookie-based form filling.

How Do Enterprises Use DéjàClick and the TrueUser Monitoring Service?

New Application Quality Assurance: No Internet application is static. It is important to test any changes before they are rolled out to ensure the user experience is not negatively affected.

Failure Discovery: DéjàClick provides a foundation for setting thresholds on various technical aspects of the Web experience. There are many ways to set alarms to alert administrators if basic links stop working, if content matching fails, etc.  Click here for our 30-day free trial.

Problem Discovery and Diagnoses: Over half of all performance problems are discovered by end users. The TrueUser system is a valuable aid in identifying problems before users are affected. Diagnostics determine which part of the complex system of users, networks and servers is creating a performance problem.

Correlation Analysis: Data can be used to develop a performance baseline. Analyze if performance is consistent across geographic regions.

Load Testing: DéjàClick scripts can be written to mimic the actions of first-time users or repeat users or even to reflect a range of user "think times." By load testing your Web site, you accurately identify areas of vulnerability. Click here for our free load test.

Providing the Best Web Experience for Your Users

For financial services firms, fractions of a second can make the difference between success and failure. That's why it's critical to improve performance by measuring what matters-and what matters in the case of Web 2.0 applications is the real-user experience. Complex, media-rich and dynamic client applications can only be monitored with comprehensive testing such as AlertSite's DéjàClick.

AlertSite is a global leader in technology that improves the Web experience. The company's premier solution, DéjàClick, is the only Web performance monitoring tool that measures every action users take on a Web site-ensuring the fastest, most reliable Web experience. Over 2,300 companies rely on AlertSite comprehensive solutions to keep their Web sites running smoothly.

Gary Beerman, AlertSite Vice President Product Management is responsible for the development and implementation of all AlertSite's products, marketing and public relations. Beerman has over 25 years experience in developing and marketing high-tech computing solutions, from software security to Linux and UNIX-based operating systems. Prior to joining AlertSite, he served as Director of Worldwide Marketing for Concurrent Computer Corporation.