Real user monitoring or RUM is a type of monitoring technology that measures real user interactions with a website or mobile app. A subset of digital experience monitoring, RUM is implemented through injected JavaScript code and used by DevOps teams to monitor technical performance, including reachability, functionality and responsiveness.
Every session includes a vast amount of technical events (averaging over a thousand!), from clicking buttons to loading files. RUM provides a systemized approach to regularly monitoring these technical events, so teams can identify and decrease sources of friction, and provide a more seamless digital experience for customers.
RUM is chiefly concerned with gathering technical data, so there’s no way to easily connect performance during an individual session with the total customer journey. As a result, RUM affords extremely limited visibility and context around digital experiences, from the users’ point of view. It’s also impossible to visualize data for reporting and analysis, which is why RUM is seldom used in isolation.
RUM is most commonly used through application performance monitoring (APM) and real user experienc platforms. APM solutions support RUM within a range of technical monitoring and diagnostic capabilities. Real user experience solutions integrate RUM with digital experience analytics to not only measure technical performance, but assess its impact on user behavior throughout the customer journey.
