Monitor
By: Dan Stewart
February 27, 2023
I measure the value of the product. This can come from direct user engagement, stakeholder
interviews, and reviewing Dynatrace log entries.
Logging
I want to measure the mean time to failure. So, I need logging to indicate that an error has occurred. Error messages that indicate failure are things like database timeouts or network connectivity issues. Other messages should be actionable. When we see them, we know what to do to fix the problem. For example, an order made for a product that is out of stock.
Response time can be measured by services like Pingdom and Dynatrace. When I click on a link from a search result, I give it about five seconds before I close the tab and try a different site. That being said if my product does not respond within 500 milliseconds I get nervous. Google page experience suggests a 2.5 second response for largest contentful paint.
User Feedback
After releasing the product, the support team can provide essential information. I set up a Google Space where anyone can drop in. This stays open until things settle down. Then the team can use the standard way of reporting issues.
I talk to the stakeholders that were involved in the user acceptance testing. I ask them open-ended questions. Now that the product has been released, what are you hearing from customers? If you could change something, what would it be? What do you like most about it? These questions lead to more discussion and improvements.
Next Steps
I know there is a lot more to post-release product tracking. I'm looking forward to getting more experience. Once I do, I'll update this page.