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Did you realize that by the year 2020, there will be over 6 billion mobile app users? If you are a tech entrepreneur looking for a new venture or a business owner trying to create a competitive edge, embracing the power of mobile apps is a must.
During the app building process, there are a number of things you need to do to avoid mistakes. Once you have built and launched your app, closely monitoring it is a must. Choosing the right key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor is vital when trying to assess the health and functionality of your app.
These KPIs will show you just how well an app is performing for users. Discovering functionality issues early on will allow you to fix them before they lead to things like crashes or freeze ups.
The following are just some of the KPIs you need to monitor when trying to ensure your new app is processing and working correctly.
What is Your User Satisfaction Rating?
In order to assess how well your app is performing for users, you will need to take a look at your application performance index (Apdex) score. This score has become an industry standard when it comes to gauging the relative performance of an app.
This score is generated by setting a goal for how long an app transaction or requests should take to process. The program then takes a large group of transactions or requests and creates an average score. If the score is drastically low, chances are there is an issue with your app. The last thing you want is to slow users down due to app functionality issues. Keeping a watch on your Apdex score is a great way to flush out issues and address them head-on.
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Tracking Average Response Time
Another key application performance metric you need to be aware of is your response time. While the Apdex score can give you a rough idea of how long it is taking your app to respond, you need to delve a bit deeper. The longer it is taking your app to respond and process the requests made by users, the higher the probability that these same users will uninstall the app.
Using a Python application performance monitoring tool is a great way to see whether or not response issues are being caused by coding problems. If these issues are due to bad coding, you need to fix them in a hurry. The longer you allow these issues to linger, the harder you will find it to keep users loyal to your app.
Server Application Instances
Knowing how many server/application instances your app is running is also crucial. Many cloud-based apps have an auto-scaling feature that allows you to meet the demands of your audience with ease. These auto-scaling feature will also scale back down when traffic begins to taper off.
Closely monitoring just how much traffic your app is getting will help you see whether or not your current hosting solutions are effective. If you see that your app is crashing for some users due to a lack of bandwidth, speaking with your existing host is a must.
While you may have to spend more money to handle an increased amount of traffic from users, it will be worth it. Once an app gets a reputation for being unreliable, it is hard to win consumers back over. This is why monitoring these types of metrics is essential to the long-term success of your app.
CPU Usage
Are you noticing that the CPU usage rates on your app are extremely high? If so, chances are you will have a lot of app functionality issues. Monitoring your app’s CPU usage can help you get out in front of problems before they begin to cause big problems. Nearly every server or app monitoring program will monitor CPU usage and can even provide you with alerts when this number gets too high.
If you are getting high CPU usage alerts on a regular basis, now is the time to find a solution. The best way to avoid these issues is by taking your app to the cloud. Most cloud-based hosting providers will allow you to scale up your bandwidth with the click of a button. This means you can keep your app running efficiently without fear of it crashing.
Is Your App Online and Available?
You will also need to closely monitor whether or not your app is only and available for users. Properly measuring app uptime will allow you to assess whether or not your existing app host is holding up to their end of the bargain. Performing scheduled HTTP checks on your app is the easiest way to see if it is online and available.
Most of the programs that run these HTTP checks will also give you information regarding the app’s response time and status codes. Utilizing the power of these programs will help you keep your app running efficiently for a long time to come.
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Error Logging is Vital
Each time your app malfunctions, it should generate an error log. Without the right software in place, you will have a hard time finding these logs once they are generated. There are a number of programs on the market that will allow you to keep these error logs organized and easily accessible.
Checking error logs on a daily basis will give you an idea of how well your app is performing. If you start to notice the same error log over and over again, then it is time to troubleshoot your program. These logs can help to point you in the right direction when it comes to issues with your program. Taking action as soon as these problems are noticed can save you a lot of headaches in the future.
The main goal you should have when putting an app out for mass consumption is keeping it functional. Failing to do this can put your company in a bad light and may result in you losing customers.