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CEO at SciVisum.co.uk
31 January 2006 11:59am
Actually Paul you're incorrect. We don't sell tools.
Or more fully, we have developed our own web test engine in-house, that we use to run a range of web test services including User Journey (not server...) monitoring, and stress testing.
We sell testing services of course, same as you folks. Purely web testing..
My comments really were because Ashley's list of suppliers were nearly all service suppliers not tool vendors.
I guess we need to hear quite what Ashley's focus was - service suppliers vs DIY tools.
In my view, before an organisation spends good money on DIY tools (you can't buy much from Mercury for less than than 5 figures), they should first work out whether they have the people resources to really make the most of those tools. For most organisations, unless they have loads of web real estate and want to test something every month or more, and are willing to dedicate staff to the task full time, then load testing is likely to be better quality if outsourced, and cheaper too.
That Value For Money argument can apply even for large organisations like clients such as Premium Bonds or T-Mobile - right down to where you'd expect it to be true, for Hertfordshire County Council or Chartered Institute of Marketing type people.
In other spaces like accessibility, there are some cheaper tools at the 1,000 level; and there can be advantages having them available on the developers desk, so the VFM point is different
Just my t'pence
Deri
SciVisum - web monitoring and testing
On 11:54:14 30 January 2006 PaulWalsh wrote:
CEO at SciVisum.co.uk
31 January 2006 14:42pm
I've tried to build some sub-categories from your list Ashley.
Don't take it as authoratative... there are loads of web sites out there offering web test services of one kind or another, and most are pretty poor in what they offer... it's time consuming for the potential buyer to have to work out what exactly you get for your money. You'll be doing your readers a service if you pull a review of them all together into one place!
Hope it helps.
Deri
SciVisum
'Server' monitoring - cheap /cheerful
-------------------------------------
(actually, monitoring servers or single web pages is not really of much value... it is the multipage user journeys through your site that make your money/service your customers...)
Atwatch (USA HQ - no monitoring from UK)
+ loads of $10-$50/month others
+ loads of DIY software tools to do similar 'trivial' server monitoring.
Web Monitoring - advanced
-------------------------
These folks offer (to varying extents) User Journey based monitoring. Much more useful than the above. In no particular order:
SciVisum (UK HQ)
Gomez (USA HQ)
Keynote (USA HQ)
Webmetrics (USA HQ)
Site Confidence (UK)
Empirix (USA)
Axzona (UK) - only limited user journeys
Nexuswatch (UK) - techie monitoring for network admins really (no longer active but web site still there?)
(IMHO, the US players generally have little UK presence, and not many UK clients).
Web Stress Testing
------------------
Mercury - top-end Stress software vendors, and sell stress testing to FT100's only
Segue - ditto
SciVisum
Loads of DIY tool suppliers - mostly based on record+playback model, which doesn't really work well with dynamic web applications (changing session IDs, and etc), but OK for homepages... Most are pretty limited. Some shareware. Some Opensource ones too.
Don't believe the ones that say 'No scripting language to learn' - (eg www.testweb.com)
Or the claims that you can run successful stress tests even from Windows 98...!
(eg www.loadtestingtool.com )
Accessibility tools
-------------------
Of these, infocus is well liked. (lots of debate and opinions in the accessibility area though).
Cynthia Says www.contentquality.com
Bobby /watchfire
InFocus www.ssbtechnologies.com
WAVE wave.webaim.org
Lift www.usablenet.com
Accessibility test services
---------------------------
scivisum.co.uk
www.cdsm.co.uk (interesting link up with the Shaw Trust - who provide disabled testers)
+ loads more
SEO category
------
not sure if there are good tools here - not my space
Asstd testers
-------------
These were on your list Ashley:
Maxamine - 'Web inventory' service? what category is that?
SiteMorse - offer a range of some of the above types. However, their test methodologies have been criticised, eg see debate (http://www.accessifyforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3422) around their league tables being dropped from www.publicsectorforums.co.uk
Silk Tide - but seem to be web hosters, not web testing suppliers?
Their 'test tool' is not highly rated it seems:
(http://forum.statcounter.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-17550.html)
On 14:40:54 23 January 2006 Ashley wrote:
Marketing at Sitemorse Ltd
03 February 2006 17:22pm
I think the list, grouping by type is a good idea - and to ensure everyone understands what is offered from SiteMorse (and yes when you are say the top provider in a sector like local gov Deri people are trying to discredit us, but to date no-one has ever demonstrated our tests are not valid / fail - providing the most comprehensive set of tools is not to everyone’s liking.... lots of moans also about our League Tables as well, normally from those near the bottom of the table)
In terms of market sectors, we dominate UK Government, have probably the most significant presence in banking/FTSE100.... Recently just completed the testing for the ISPA awards, 4 year with annual government review of Local Authorities...
Anyway, could I suggest that the tools are broken down into the how they operate - e.g., those that are automated and those that require manual setup to start with.
SiteMorse offers the following tools,
Load and Stress Testing
User experience / Journey
HTML
Accessibility
Function
Metadata (inc gov eGMS)
Performance
Brand / Corporate compliance
On 14:42:12 31 January 2006 DeriJones wrote:
Consultant at Deloitte
04 January 2007 19:20pm
Ashley, very interesting topic - have you done the research?
Chris
On 14:40:54 23 January 2006 Ashley wrote:
CEO at SciVisum.co.uk
05 January 2007 12:17pm
I guess Ashley's been busy on other things - at least he's not approached me here at SciVisum with any questions, and we'd certainly want to be included...
If you do fancy an event Ashley (hope you reading this?), we can perhaps bring one of our clients along who have experience of several testing / monitoring suppliers over the years and have perhaps a good overview of the sector.
Folks like Tesco, T-Mobile, Premium Bonds, William Hill or etc.
And who hopefully can tell some good war stories; including some where our unique User Journey based approach has helped transform their user experience.
Or even some clients where the tech and marketing/business teams actually got together in *harmony* around a set of shared performance KPIs
Not that it's common for tech and business teams to be talking a different language when it comes to measuring ongoing user experience, you understand ;<0
Deri
On 19:20:15 4 January 2007 ChrisSchelde wrote:
CEO at SciVisum.co.uk
05 January 2007 12:24pm
Chris - forget to say your colleagues at Deloitte use SciVisum.
The global Recruiting team, who run complex/powerful job applications apps, using a combination of various 3rd party suppliers; some Journeys of 20-odd pages, with complex flows.
Deri
On 19:20:15 4 January 2007 ChrisSchelde wrote:
Marketing at Sitemorse Ltd
05 January 2007 17:21pm
On 19:20:15 4 January 2007 ChrisSchelde wrote:
Marketing at Sitemorse Ltd
05 January 2007 17:26pm
Does anyone know what has happened to Watchfire, no longer seem to have a UK Office - have a number in Eire, goes to a voicemail - anyone know of Mark Huges, i think he set something up in the UK about a year ago?
Lawrence Shaw
SiteMorse.com
lshaw@sitemorse.com
On 14:40:54 23 January 2006 Ashley wrote:
CEO at Segala
06 January 2007 11:11am
As far as I knew it was a one man band running Europe. The guy (I think his name was Mark) was based in Merrow, Guildford - 2 minutes from me. It's easy to have 'virtual' offices around the world these days.
On 17:26:09 5 January 2007 ljshaw wrote:
CEO at Econsultancy
08 January 2007 11:02am
Hi Deri (and others)
Yes, still something we'd like to do - we're thinking of perhaps doing a roundtable, a supplier showcase, and possibly a buyers guide on the topic.
We do think it is an important area, and should be seen not as a 'technical' thing but as a user experience thing (and therefor a marketing and commercial thing).
Two problems we've encountered historically:
1. We have problems persuading marketing and e-commerce people to get as interested in this topic as we think they should be. Which makes it harder to get the relevant attendees as the events.
2. For the showcases (where the companies presenting pay and the audience goes free) , we've struggled to find enough (4 minimum) companies who are happy to pay to make it viable for us to run. (the same was true last year for Site Search solutions despite strong demand from the client lot).
Ashley Friedlein
CEO
E-consultancy.com