The page says success, but the case never arrives
A resident completes an online application and receives a confirmation screen. The downstream case-management system fails to create the record. Failure detection must recognise that the public outcome is incomplete even though the website appears healthy.
Define end-to-end success
Identify which events establish a completed transaction or an appropriately pending case.
Monitor critical transitions
Authentication, submission, payment, case creation and notification may each have different failure modes.
Use traceable identifiers
Suitable correlation references help link events while protecting personal information.
Distinguish delay from failure
Asynchronous processes need expected timing and escalation rules rather than immediate false alarms.
Detect silent failures
A missing downstream event can be as important as an explicit error message.
Assign investigation ownership
Alerts should lead to responsible teams and correction of affected cases.
Break-test: all component services are online
Can the system still detect that applications are not reaching their final destination?
Connected knowledge
See Service Journey Observability, Cross System Traceability and GovTech