Patent ID: 8166157

Claim:
A computer-based method comprising: monitoring execution of a transaction associated with a first user session of a multi-tier enterprise application, the execution of the transaction using a first component on a first tier and a second component on a second, different tier of the enterprise application; generating, by a computer system, a first performance record that includes: a transaction identifier that uniquely identifies the transaction, a first component identifier that uniquely identifies the first component, and first performance data being representative of the performance of the first component executing the transaction; generating, by the computer system, a second, different performance record that includes: the transaction identifier, a second component identifier that uniquely identifies the second component, and second performance data being representative of the performance of the second component executing the transaction; and determining, by the computer system, based on the first performance record and the second performance record whether the transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, and if so, taking an action based on the determining; wherein taking an action comprises: identifying a target performance value for the transaction; identifying an acceptable performance value, different from the target performance value, for the transaction; and comparing the performance value included in the first performance record and the second performance record with the identified target performance value and the acceptable performance value to determine the quality of performance the first component and the second component; and providing in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of one or more monitored elements of the enterprise application during an execution of a transaction associated with a user session with the enterprise application; with each of the one or more monitored elements being associated with a customer impact identifier that comprises one of a business critical function identifier, a secondary function identifier, and a tertiary function identifier.