ObserviX

Real-time analytics in ObserviX allows you to see what's happening across your applications as it happens, with sub-second latency. This enables immediate insights and rapid response to changes in user behavior or system performance.

What is Real-time Analytics?

Real-time analytics processes and visualizes data as soon as it's collected, typically within seconds. Unlike traditional batch processing that might delay insights by hours or days, real-time analytics gives you immediate visibility into:

Current active users and their behaviors
Live conversion rates and transactions
Ongoing campaign performance
System health and performance metrics
Emerging trends and anomalies

Key Features

Live User Monitoring

See exactly what users are doing on your site right now:

Active Sessions - View current active users and their locations
Real-time Events - Watch events as they happen (page views, clicks, conversions)
User Journeys - Follow individual user paths through your site
Geographic Distribution - See where your traffic is coming from in real-time

Performance Dashboards

Monitor key metrics with live updates:

Custom KPI displays with automatic refresh
Configurable update intervals (1s, 5s, 30s, or custom)
Trend indicators showing directional changes
Comparison to historical baselines

Live Campaign Tracking

Track marketing campaign performance as it happens:

Real-time ROAS across all channels
Live conversion tracking
Campaign spending vs. revenue
Traffic source breakdown

Instant Alerts

Get notified immediately when important events occur:

Threshold-based alerts (e.g., error rate > 5%)
Anomaly detection alerts
Custom event triggers
Multi-channel notifications (email, Slack, webhooks)

Use Cases

Launch Monitoring

When launching a new feature or campaign:

Set up real-time dashboards before launch
Monitor initial user reactions and engagement
Identify issues immediately
Make rapid adjustments based on live data

Issue Detection

Catch problems before they escalate:

Sudden drops in conversion rates
Spikes in error rates or load times
Unexpected traffic patterns
Payment processing issues

Event Monitoring

For time-sensitive events like sales or product launches:

Track traffic volume in real-time
Monitor conversion funnel performance
Identify bottlenecks as they occur
Optimize on the fly

A/B Test Monitoring

Watch test results as they come in:

Real-time statistical significance
Live conversion rate comparisons
Early trend identification
Quick iteration cycles

How to Use Real-time Analytics

Accessing Real-time Views

Navigate to Real-time in the main menu
Choose from predefined views:
- Overview
- Traffic Sources
- Content
- Events
- Conversions
Or create custom real-time dashboards

Creating Custom Real-time Dashboards

Build dashboards tailored to your needs:

// Example: Custom real-time dashboard configuration
{
  "dashboard": {
    "name": "Black Friday Monitor",
    "refresh": "5s",
    "widgets": [
      {
        "type": "metric",
        "title": "Active Users",
        "query": "SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) FROM sessions WHERE timestamp > NOW() - INTERVAL '5 minutes'"
      },
      {
        "type": "chart",
        "title": "Revenue (Last Hour)",
        "query": "SELECT SUM(revenue) FROM transactions WHERE timestamp > NOW() - INTERVAL '1 hour' GROUP BY MINUTE"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Setting Up Real-time Alerts

Configure alerts for important conditions:

Go to Settings > Alerts
Click "Create Alert"
Define conditions:
- Metric to monitor
- Threshold value
- Time window
- Notification channels
Test and activate

Example alert configurations:

// Revenue drop alert
{
  "alert": "revenue_drop",
  "condition": "revenue_per_hour < 1000 AND hour_of_day BETWEEN 9 AND 17",
  "notification": ["email", "slack"],
  "cooldown": "30m"
}

// Error spike alert
{
  "alert": "error_spike",
  "condition": "error_rate > 0.05",
  "timeWindow": "5m",
  "notification": ["pagerduty"],
  "priority": "high"
}

Best Practices

Don't Overreact to Short-term Fluctuations

Real-time data can be noisy. Consider:

Use appropriate time windows for aggregation
Compare to historical patterns
Wait for statistical significance before making major decisions
Set minimum sample size requirements

Focus on Actionable Metrics

Not everything needs real-time monitoring:

Prioritize metrics you can act on immediately
Set up alerts for critical thresholds
Use real-time views for time-sensitive situations
Rely on historical reports for strategic decisions

Optimize Dashboard Performance

Keep dashboards fast and responsive:

Limit the number of widgets per dashboard
Use appropriate refresh intervals (don't refresh more often than needed)
Pre-aggregate data where possible
Use sampling for high-volume data

Combine with Historical Analysis

Real-time analytics are most powerful when combined with historical context:

Compare current performance to past periods
Identify seasonal patterns
Set realistic alert thresholds based on history
Use trends to predict future outcomes

Technical Considerations

Data Freshness

ObserviX real-time analytics typically show data within:

1-3 seconds for standard events
< 1 second for critical events (transactions, errors)
5-10 seconds for aggregated metrics

Data Accuracy

Real-time data may have slight variations from final processed data due to:

Late-arriving events
Deduplication processes
Data validation checks

For reporting and billing, always use the processed historical data.

Performance Impact

Real-time analytics are designed for minimal impact:

Asynchronous data collection
Efficient event batching
CDN-delivered tracking scripts
Automatic scaling for traffic spikes

Integration with Other Features

Real-time analytics work seamlessly with:

Custom Dashboards - Build comprehensive views
Alerting System - Get notified of important events
Integration Options - Connect with external tools

Troubleshooting

Data Not Appearing in Real-time?

Verify tracking code is properly installed
Check browser console for errors
Ensure ad blockers aren't interfering
Confirm you're looking at the correct time zone

Dashboard Loading Slowly?

Reduce the number of widgets
Increase refresh interval
Simplify complex queries
Use date range filters

Alerts Not Firing?

Check alert conditions are met
Verify notification channels are configured
Review alert cooldown settings
Check spam/junk folders for email alerts

Next Steps

Explore Custom Dashboards to create tailored views
Set up Alerts for critical metrics
Learn about Performance Optimization for better real-time performance