Simplifying root cause identification and triage

In the fast-moving world of modern software development, errors are inevitable. Applications are more complex than ever, resulting in an ever-increasing number of possible error sources to investigate. The impact of errors on customers can best be mitigated with effective error tracking integrated with other observability data that make you aware of the most impactful errors in real-time.  

These past few months have seen some significant enhancements to New Relic errors inbox that streamline the debugging process to minimize downtime, enhancing the experience of your customers.  In this blog, we describe these enhancements so you can leverage them to maximum benefit in your work.

Combat alert fatigue: Reduce the noise from errors

Errors can come in multiple forms from multiple sources; however, not all errors are equally meaningful. If all errors are treated the same, you’ll likely be overwhelmed with noise, unsure of where to focus your efforts. One way to mitigate this noise is to group errors that are similar or follow a similar pattern.  

New Relic errors inbox now offers custom fingerprinting, which is a simplified way to automatically group errors based on your specific needs. We’ve made it easy to accomplish this by simply using a call-back function or naming a group via a custom attribute. The result is a simplified view of errors that accelerates your error resolution workflows.

Identify and track errors by version

As organizations innovate quickly and adopt continuous deployment methods, they’re releasing software multiple times per day, potentially multiple times per hour. This increases the number of changes that can cause errors and impact your customer experience, while simultaneously making it more difficult to find the source of the error.

New Relic errors inbox now lets you track errors by version. You can now identify the version of the code release where newly detected errors were first introduced. You’ll also get an up-to-date summary of any new errors introduced by recent software releases so you can stay ahead of errors before they impact your customers.   

Unify performance data and errors in a single UI

One of the major contributors to slow issue resolution for developers is the reliance on multiple tools and data sources during the triage process. Now, with New Relic APM 360, we’ve pulled together the necessary telemetry data into a single user interface. This unified view shows in-context performance, change, security, and error data from the user experience through the infrastructure and everything in between.

No longer is it necessary to build your own dashboards to integrate the data nor rely on multiple screens. With APM 360, the impact of an error is immediately visible to you, and your triage analysis is only a click away.

What better error tracking can do for you

The combination of these new capabilities makes it easier than ever to strengthen your error-tracking practices. With streamlined debugging processes, enhanced code quality, and proactive analysis, you can turn errors into opportunities for growth and improvement of your applications, leading to improved customer experiences and better business results.