Glossary · Automation and agent systems
Monitoring
Repeated observation of a system's availability, behavior, errors, or business signals so failures can be detected.
Also called: health check, health checks
Definition
Monitoring may check pages, services, certificates, workflows, data freshness, logs, or outcomes. Useful monitoring defines expected behavior, records evidence, alerts an owner, and distinguishes transient noise from actionable failure.
Why it matters
Websites and integrations can return a success status while a critical user flow is broken, so checks should reflect real behavior.
Common misunderstanding
Collecting logs or uptime percentages is not sufficient when nobody reviews failures or tests the actual customer path.
Related terms
Related system family: Operations & Automation
Last reviewed July 16, 2026