We have improved how Speed Analysis Lab interacts with web pages in the scenario feature to execute user journeys, by providing a more realistic way to handle clicks.
Key impact of improvements (introduced 12th December 2023):
- All newly created scenarios and actions are now leveraging the new way to interact with pages.
- Existing scenarios are not updated automatically. If you see a 'deprecated' prefix before the name of an action type, when editing a scenario, the action is still based on the old version. You will need to manually update it to use the new action type.
What has been improved
A click action is currently emulated through several Javascript calls.
Now, the click interaction (when a scenario is executed) will be based on real clicks, by moving the pointer to hover over the center of the targeted element and triggering the click.
What are the impacted actions?
The following actions impacted by this change are:
- Click on an element and Click on an element (optional) actions
- Fill the input and Fill the input (optional) actions
- Set select value and Set select value (optional) actions
These actions will begin by an implicit click on the element before interacting with the input or select component.
How might the new action affect my existing scenarios?
- Actions labeled as 'deprecated' are still based on the old version and need to be updated manually. Updating an action to use the new version may require additional changes.
- Interacting with an element that is not visible or accessible by a user (E.g. Hidden behind a pop in) will not work with the new version.
- In the example of an element hidden behind a pop-in, it will be necessary to add an action to close the pop-in, for the click on the element to work correctly.
Other Impacts
Error output
When a click action is failing find what's wrong faster using the new actions.
See the below example of an error when a click action is defined as a recorded action, but does not work as expected. Speed Analysis Lab provides a screenshot and displays where the click occurred (red circle).
Pointer positioning
For scenarios running on a Desktop device, the new actions move the pointer to the center of the element before triggering the click. This also triggers the “hover” event on the element (video replays may be impacted).
Performance results
We also improved the way to manage some edge cases related to performance measurements after click interactions, in some situations the new version of interactions can affect your performance results.
The Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) value may decrease. Since the click action is now a real click and not a JavaScript click, the CLS is computed exactly as stated in the official documentation: It ignores the content instability that occurs within 500 milliseconds of user input.
Video accuracy
The beginning of the video of the recorded action is more accurate. Previously when recording after filling in a field, you could sometimes see the video starting before the field was completed.
How to update a scenario
1. Duplicate the scenario and use the newly created version.
2. Update the actions using deprecated type on this copy. If you need additional help, please contact your Customer Success Manager.
3. (Optional) make any other required changes.
Once your copied and updated scenario is working as expected, you can either replicate the required changes on the initial version of your scenario (so you’ll have the whole history in the same place) or disable it to use only the new one.
Limitations
1. The new click action will position the pointer at the center of the element targeted by the selector. In some situations, the center of the element might not be interactive and then the click won’t work as expected.
2. It's not possible to interact with an element that can only be displayed when hovering over another element.