Which testing method captures actual user experiences and interactions?

Real user monitoring (RUM) is a testing method that captures actual user experiences and interactions by tracking performance metrics as real users interact with an application or website. This method collects data directly from users, enabling organizations to see how their systems perform under real-world conditions, rather than relying solely on theoretical or simulated scenarios.

RUM provides valuable insights into user behavior, including page loading times, transaction timings, and error rates encountered during real user sessions. By focusing on real user data, organizations can make data-driven decisions to enhance user experience, identify performance bottlenecks, and troubleshoot issues that affect the end-user experience.

The other methods mentioned, such as synthetic performance monitoring, path coverage analysis, and static source code analysis, have their own specific use cases but do not capture user experiences in the same direct manner. Synthetic performance monitoring involves simulating user interactions to test application performance but does not reflect actual user behavior. Path coverage analysis focuses on testing various execution paths within the application code, typically used for improving test coverage rather than user experience. Static source code analysis is a technique to analyze code without executing it, which is useful for identifying vulnerabilities but does not capture how users interact with the application.