> Markdown version of [/videos/171-implementing-smoke-testing-and-proactive-monitoring-in-production?t=505](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/171-implementing-smoke-testing-and-proactive-monitoring-in-production?t=505). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md).

---

# Implementing smoke testing and proactive monitoring in production

Are critical user paths breaking silently in production? Discover how automated, end-to-end smoke testing catches regressions instantly before your customers ever complain.

- **Speakers:** Liam Hurrell, Jan Kunzmann
- **Event:** World Congress 2021
- **Published:** June 29, 2021
- **Duration:** 1:29:04
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/171-implementing-smoke-testing-and-proactive-monitoring-in-production

## Summary

Modern software development relies on rapid deployments, but ensuring critical user paths remain intact post-release often becomes an afterthought. Deploying with confidence requires proactive monitoring and smoke testing directly within the production environment, rather than relying strictly on staging or waiting for customer complaints. By implementing a suite of automated, end-to-end smoke tests—often characterized as wide and shallow—engineering teams can attain immediate, cost-effective feedback on core application functionality, such as user registration and checkout flows.

Effective smoke testing leverages a variety of methodologies to simulate real-world behavior and catch regressions early. Utilizing tools like New Relic Synthetics, Selenium, and Node.js-based scripts, teams can generate a mix of ping checks for availability, headless Chrome interactions for performance baselines, and scripted API assertions to validate both internal and third-party services. Integrating these synthetic checks into a centralized observability platform eliminates information silos, allowing teams to build query-driven dashboards and establish robust alerting policies that map directly to service level agreements.

Realizing the full value of production synthetics requires strategic execution and maintenance. Teams should focus test creation strictly on the critical workflows that drive business revenue, while carefully managing test data—such as leveraging dedicated flags to prevent test users from triggering anti-fraud systems or being deleted by automated cleanup jobs. Furthermore, codifying automated test configurations within version control ensures programmatic consistency across delivery pipelines. Ultimately, configuring these lightweight, continuous checks ensures that if an essential button vanishes or an authentication provider stalls, developers are alerted within minutes, protecting both the user experience and business operations.

**Keywords:** smoke testing strategies, proactive production monitoring, synthetic user monitoring, automated end-to-end validation, selenium browser automation, node.js api assertions, new relic synthetics, deployment confidence checkpoints, test user fraud avoidance, third-party api reliability, observability telemetry dashboards, headless chrome profiling, build verification testing, business-critical user flows, programmatic test provisioning

## Chapters

1. **Setting up the workshop environment and session prerequisites** (00:02) — Setting up the workshop environment and accessing trial instances for automated monitoring.
1. **Setting the agenda for proactive monitoring patterns** (04:40) — Outlining the technical goals for exploring automated application verification and continuous testing.
1. **Defining the methodology behind smoke testing in production** (08:25) — Validating critical application logic end-to-end to catch functional failures immediately after deployment.
1. **Automating and centralizing the quality assurance cycle** (18:25) — Leveraging centralized telemetry and automated solutions over manual scripting approaches.
1. **Selecting business critical workflows for automated verification** (23:47) — Prioritizing critical paths like authentication, payment workflows, and integral third-party dependencies.
1. **Implementing automated synthetic monitors for web applications** (27:47) — Employing virtual browsers and protocol clients to evaluate availability, feature mechanics, and global network latency.
1. **Provisioning external availability and performance monitoring endpoints** (32:02) — Constructing simple node evaluations localized to specific geographic data centers and interpreting waterfall loading graphs.
1. **Balancing testing coverage against database side effects** (41:20) — Balancing routine test maintenance against complex testing requirements targeting revenue-generating interactions safely.
1. **Authoring custom node scripts targeting remote api protocols** (46:17) — Integrating native node asserts and request libraries to parse hyper text transfer protocols across test suites.
1. **Simulating customer dom interactions using scripted virtual browsers** (63:00) — Navigating the document object model using raw web driver capabilities abstracted by automated synthetic runners.
1. **Generating visual testing sequences without manual scripting logic** (77:44) — Utilizing browser extensions and visual builders to record interactive web sessions seamlessly into testing environments.
1. **Visualizing synthetic test returns and authoring notification policies** (83:05) — Authoring domain-specific telemetry queries and defining notification pathways when automated assertions evaluate negatively.

## Related Moments

- [Defining smoke testing for production system environments](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/139-proactive-monitoring-and-smoke-testing-in-your-production-environment) (from "Proactive monitoring and smoke testing in your production environment")
- [Monitoring and automation as production testing safeguards](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/949-progressive-delivery-in-kubernetes) (from "Progressive Delivery in Kubernetes")
- [Implementing automated monitoring and end-to-end testing](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/962-3-key-steps-for-optimizing-devops-workflows) (from "3 Key Steps for Optimizing DevOps Workflows")
- [Utilizing synthetic monitors for automated scheduled testing](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/139-proactive-monitoring-and-smoke-testing-in-your-production-environment) (from "Proactive monitoring and smoke testing in your production environment")
- [Classifying performance testing into proactive and passive strategies](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/8-frontend-performance-testing-in-practice) (from "Frontend Performance Testing in practice")
- [Automating security and performance evaluations during the testing phase](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/598-why-shifting-left-is-so-important-for-software-developers) (from "Why shifting left is so important for software developers")

## Related Articles

- [Now is the time for industrialized software development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/601-now-is-the-time-for-industrialized-software-development)
- [MLops – Deploying, Maintaining And Evolving Machine Learning Models in Production](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/115-mlops-deploying-maintaining-and-evolving-machine-learning-models-in-production)
- [How to create a test plan for software testing](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/56-how-to-create-a-test-plan-for-software-testing)
- [What is a Test Plan: Guide to Test Planning](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/191-what-is-a-test-plan-guide-to-test-planning)

## Related Jobs

- [Engineer, Offensive Security Organization](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/1992296-engineer-offensive-security-organization) at **Twilio**
- [Staff Software Engineer, Copilot Experiences](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/164361-staff-software-engineer-copilot-experiences) at **GitHub**
- [Staff Frontend Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/48313-staff-frontend-engineer) at **SMG Swiss Marketplace Group**
- [Lead Software Engineer - Data Engineering](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2000968-lead-software-engineer-data-engineering) at **Dynatrace**
- [QA Automation Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/1414297-qa-automation-engineer) at **Bitpanda**
- [Senior Software Engineer, Enterprise Products](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/1841248-senior-software-engineer-enterprise-products) at **GitHub**