Real User Monitoring

SiteSpect Real User Monitoring (RUM) leverages the PerformanceTiming API to capture and record timing information for various events that occur during the loading and use of the current page. SiteSpect uses PerformanceTiming to monitor timing of the user experience on your site. This information helps you to analyze where lags in performance may be, which in turn, helps you optimize your site performance and increase conversion. Specifically, RUM helps you understand how real people interact with your site and how your site performance affects that interaction. RUM is a passive monitor, meaning that it is constantly running in the background. RUM is enabled on a per customer basis.

For example, if you suspect that your site loads too slowly, RUM can show you exactly where that lag affects user behavior. Maybe your customers behave normally up until checkout, but a slow-loading payment form causes high drop-off rates. RUM gives you the information you need to bridge the gap between performance metrics and business metrics.

Creating a Global Variation for RUM

The SiteSpect Customer Success Team must create a Global Variation that inserts some JavaScript. This JavaScript collects navigation timing information from the browser and sends it to SiteSpect. SiteSpect sends the data along with benchmark log data.

The following is an example of the replacement text that is inserted by the Global Variation RUM template:

<script>(function() {var ___rum = function () {var timing = window.performance.timing;if (typeof timing === "undefined") {return;};if (timing.loadEventStart === 0) {setTimeout(___rum, 100);return;};var start = timing.requestStart;var url = "/__ssobj/rum?" +"request_timestamp=__SS_REQUEST_TIMESTAMP__" +"&ssorigintime=__SS_ORIGINTIME__" +"&ssanalysistime=__SS_PROCESSINGTIME__" +"&content_length=__SS_CONTENT_LENGTH__" +"&node_id=__SS_NODEID__" +"&servergroup_id=__SS_SERVERGROUPID__";["navigationStart", "requestStart", "responseStart", "responseEnd", "domComplete", "loadEventStart"].forEach(function(field) {if (timing[field]) {url += "&" + field + "=" + (timing[field] - start);};});try {var xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();xmlhttp.open("GET", url, true);xmlhttp.send();} catch (e) {return false;};};___rum();}());</script></body>
 

To create the Global Variation for RUM:

1. Select New, Global Variation.
2. Name the Global Variation [RUM] Data Collection.
3. Click Select Tags and add a tag called #RUM.
4. Select Site to make this a Site Variation.
5. On the right side of the page, in the Apply Template area, click RUM to apply a RUM template. This enters the correct text for the Trigger and sets up the Find Text and Replacement Text.

1. To preview the Global Variation:
   1. Temporarily uncheck Apply upon a request for a benchmark so the Global Variation will appear in the preview.
   2. Click Preview at the bottom of the page.
   3. Verify the data was sent.
   4. Exit the preview.
   5. Recheck Apply upon a request for a benchmark.
2. Change the Status to Active.
3. Click Save.

Viewing RUM Reports

To access the RUM report:

1. Select Dashboard and then Site Performance.
2. Select Real User Monitoring (RUM) from the Type drop-down and click Run. The page displays the RUM graphs and log data fields.

Graphs

The top part of the page displays graphs on user-monitoring data. The graphs display the following information in different combinations:

• Time to First Byte (TTFB) – The number of milliseconds between the time when a browser first requests a page to when the browser receives the first byte of the response.
• Time to Interactive – The number of milliseconds from when a browser requests a page to when the user can first interact with the page.
• Time to Last Byte (TTLB) – The number of milliseconds between the time the request started and the time the response ended.
• Page Load Time – The number of milliseconds between the time when the browser requests a page to when the browser has finished loading the DOM.
• Origin Time – The number of milliseconds between the time when SiteSpect sends a request to the web server (the origin) to the when SiteSpect receives a response from that web server.
• SiteSpect Analysis Time – The number of milliseconds it takes SiteSpect to modify the user experience.
• Content Length – The number of bytes of content.
• Time to Content Load – The time it takes for the requested content to load.
• Network Duration – The number of milliseconds between the time of the request and the time navigation begins.

SiteSpect displays the graphs in the following, in order:

Origin Time, SiteSpect Analysis Time, & Time to First Byte (TTFB)


Time to First Byte (TTFB), Time to Last Byte (TTLB), & Page Load Time


Content Length


Time to Interactive, Time to Content Load, & Page Load Time


Network Duration

Fields

The bottom of the RUM page contains logs. The following table lists the RUM fields and their descriptions. The fields are listed in the same order in which they appear.