I think one of the fields that has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic is offline-based academies. However, there are Watap customers that have minimized this impact. Jeong JLS has been developing and operating an online service used by over 100,000 students from all over the country, and has been upgrading the service since switching to the cloud in 2020. It is said that they were able to check for errors before service deployment using Watab and reduce service error inquiries by about 90% through continuous performance monitoring.

How to use Watap monitoring in business growth, service stabilization, and failure situations that may occur during the cloud transition process, CTO Sang JLS Shim Hyun-sik (hereafter Hyun-sik) and Lee Yun-jeong PM (hereafter Mr. Yoon JungI met) in person and conducted an interview.

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Introduction: Introduction to customers and the state of infrastructure

Please tell us about SangjLS's company and organizational status.

Yoon Jung: Sang JLS's most famous brand is Sang Language School. Currently, we operate more than 130 directly-managed stores and franchisees across the country. We are also working on an education solution business. After-school schools, kindergartens, local government education centers, and overseas educational institutions around the country are providing educational services by introducing content and educational programs created by JLS. Recently, live education using video has been conducted on a wide range of topics, from toddlers to high schools.

Please briefly introduce the UX headquarters structure and IT infrastructure status.

Yoon Jung: A total of 23 people from the planning, design, operation, and development departments within the headquarters are working together. My headquarters is responsible for everything from creating content for students to develop platforms that provide services.

Hyunsik: The infrastructure is currently configured in the AWS environment. At the beginning of the cloud migration, optimization work was carried out while improving and moving the infrastructure operated by IDC. Currently, as we continue to change the architecture, we are improving it to a serverless environment suitable for the cloud.

Challenge: From introduction to WhaTap to user reviews

I'm curious about the background of choosing Watab and how I learned it.

Hyunsik: At the beginning of 2020, when switching from an IDC environment to a cloud, I felt a great need for monitoring due to service stabilization, but unfortunately, the internal monitoring system was not well established. I started monitoring applications using open source with the idea of starting from scratch, and as I gradually got used to what monitoring was and what to look at, I felt limited in operating only with open source. I was looking for proper monitoring, so I came across Watap.

WTAP is a SaaS type that guarantees continuous service updates, and it was determined that it was reasonable for introduction because it was a cost system based on usage. The decisive choice for Watap was due to the large proportion of Watap engineers who came to demonstrate it. At the time, I was very impressed that the engineer in charge went beyond introducing the solution and proposed how to use Watap according to our company's situation, unlike other companies.

Yoon Jung: Another reason we introduced WhaTap was because of WaTap's UX. In our organization, the most important element in the development phase is UX. No matter how many features are there or how good they are, it's useless if users don't use them properly. I felt that the confidence of the person in charge of Watap, who said that programs used by developers can also be so kind was not just words.

Are there any features you frequently use in Watap application monitoring?

Hyunsik: View heatmaps frequently. The development part and the QA part first check the anomalies captured on the heatmap and identify cases where improvements are needed. Next, use reports, statistics, and transaction search functions to sort out how often they occurred and what can be improved in terms of process or technology.

Yoon Jung: I'm also monitoring mainly errors in heatmaps. Watap can only see the important points visually. Recently, the way the heatmap screen is displayed has also been improved. Since the modal has changed to a pop-up, you can check different heatmap sections at the same time, making it easier to use.

How do you use database monitoring?

Yoon Jung: It is used to improve data processing performance. Immediately after switching to the cloud, I wasn't able to take offline classes at the school for a month due to the coronavirus pandemic. As classes and everything I used to do offline was replaced online, usage increased to the point where I couldn't experience it compared to usual, and potential slow queries began to be revealed one by one.

In the case of an academy, everyone performs the same actions and transactions in the same time period based on class time. Students will all use online learning at similar times. Watap database monitoring identified queries that needed improvement and focused on solving cases where improvements were needed.

Do you have any specific examples of how using Watab solved a problem or improved your business?

Hyunsik: I received a lot of help with service QA. Problems often do not appear when testing in a QA environment, but problems are found in actual service deployment environments. The developer in charge and the QA department operate intensive monitoring with WTAP for at least a week after the function is deployed, and unexpected cases are discovered in the process and optimization is carried out before problems occur.

Yoon Jung: The number of customer service inquiries has definitely decreased since the introduction of Watap. In the past, 90% of technical inquiries occurred due to usage; currently, inquiries are rarely received due to service errors. There are only occasional inquiries about the device environment set by users using the service as exceptions.

Monitoring: Why organizations that work together in operations and development need monitoring ‍

Would you recommend Watap to companies considering implementing monitoring?

Hyunsik: I highly recommend it so much that I wonder if it's necessary to worry about it.

In order to provide competitive services, companies need to understand customer needs and maximize the user experience. We actively use Watab even in the service development phase. Every QA situation is thoroughly checked using Watap's metrics. As a result, problems that may occur after deployment can be blocked in advance and usability improvements can be improved. If you're a company like us that values user experience, I think it would definitely be helpful to adopt Watab.

Customers using AWS often manage resources with Amazon CloudWatch, so what are the advantages of monitoring in conjunction with Amazon CloudWatch in Wa Tap?

Hyunsik: A major advantage unique to Watap, which is different from the open source monitoring or installation-type monitoring we used Integrated monitoringThis is it. I liked the integration with Amazon Cloudwatch. And I'm using the Flex board to check the application and infrastructure all at once. View on one Flex Board screen without looking at it separatelyIt's convenient to be able to do it. Like most work environments, there's no room for it. Being able to check various metrics at once is a very competitive factor.

What would you describe WhaTap monitoring in summary?

Yoon Jung: Customer discomfort alarm systemI think it can be summed up as

First, it intuitively tells us the customer's problem situation handled by the system. During the monitoring process, you can easily recognize whether a specific process is slow or not linked to an error. Since everything from infrastructure issues to application issues can be checked with a single tap, it is possible to clearly determine where the problem occurred. Not to mention that problem identification is now clear, resolution is faster.