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Real User Monitoring vs Synthetic Monitoring

Monitoring the performance of your website or web application is critical to ensuring a positive user experience. Without proper monitoring, you run the risk of users having a poor user experience, which can result in lost revenue, reduced customer satisfaction, and damaged brand reputation.

When it comes to website monitoring, there are two primary approaches: real user monitoring (RUM) and synthetic monitoring. In this article, we'll explore the differences between these two approaches, their pros and cons, and how to choose the right one for your needs.

Real User Monitoring (RUM)

Real user monitoring (RUM) is a monitoring technique that captures and analyzes user interactions with a website or application in real-time. RUM tools collect data from the user's device, including information about their browser, operating system, location, and network connection, and provide insights into the performance of the website or application from the user's perspective.

RUM tools such as illuminatr typically use JavaScript code embedded in the website to collect data on user behavior, such as page load times, click events, and other interactions. This data is then sent to a centralized server for analysis and reporting.

Some benefits of RUM include:

• Real-world insights: RUM provides a real-world view of website performance from the user's perspective, which can help identify issues that may not be detected by other monitoring approaches.
• Comprehensive data: RUM provides detailed data on user behavior, such as the devices and browsers they use, which can help with website optimization and troubleshooting.
• Improved user experience: RUM allows you to identify and address performance issues that impact the user experience, improving customer satisfaction and reducing churn.

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to using RUM, such as:

• Limited control: RUM relies on user behavior and can't control the variables that impact performance, such as network conditions or device capabilities.
• Privacy concerns: RUM tools collect data from users, which can raise privacy concerns if not handled appropriately.
• Limited historical data: RUM data is sometimes only available for a short period of time, which can make it difficult to analyze long-term trends.

Synthetic Monitoring

Synthetic monitoring, on the other hand, is a monitoring technique that simulates user behavior and tests website performance under controlled conditions. Synthetic monitoring tools typically use robots or "bots" to emulate user behavior, such as navigating through pages, submitting forms, and other interactions.

Synthetic monitoring can be used to test a website's performance under controlled conditions, such as different browsers, locations, and network connections. This allows you to identify issues that may not be detected by RUM or other monitoring approaches.

The benefits of synthetic monitoring include:

• Controlled testing environment: Synthetic monitoring allows you to test website performance under controlled conditions, which can help identify issues that may be difficult to debug in real-world scenarios.
• Historical data: Synthetic monitoring can provide historical data on website performance, which can help identify long-term trends and track improvements over time.
• Consistency: Synthetic monitoring is not impacted by user behavior, which can help provide consistent and reliable data.

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to using synthetic monitoring, such as:

• Limited real-world insights: Synthetic monitoring only tests specific scenarios, which can make it difficult to identify issues that occur outside of those scenarios.
• Limited data: It's virtually impossible to test all possible scenarios so you're left with a limited data set that tests to a fixed set of conditions.
• False positives: Synthetic monitoring may report issues that do not actually impact the user experience, which can result in unnecessary alerts and wasted resources.

Choosing the Right Monitoring Approach

Choosing the right approach for web performance and user experience monitoring depends on your specific needs and goals. Real user monitoring is best suited for identifying and addressing performance issues that impact the user experience in real-world scenarios. On the other hand, synthetic monitoring is best suited for testing website performance under controlled conditions and identifying issues that may not be detected by RUM.

Ultimately, the ideal approach may be to have a comprehensive real user monitoring solution to capture the issues tht really matter and use synthetic monitoring to help dig into the problems and keep testing until you are confident that the issue has been fixed. Once again, real user monitoring solution can then give you that confirmation.