The latest articles on DEV Community by Erkan Alaca (@erkan_alaca_0934c578871d0). https://dev.to/erkan_alaca_0934c578871d0 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3682683%2Fba5102ff-6db7-4fc4-9546-8f87106701e5.png https://dev.to/erkan_alaca_0934c578871d0 en Erkan Alaca Sun, 28 Dec 2025 13:12:08 +0000 https://dev.to/erkan_alaca_0934c578871d0/finding-where-users-get-stuck-or-loop-using-only-session-logs-57k4 https://dev.to/erkan_alaca_0934c578871d0/finding-where-users-get-stuck-or-loop-using-only-session-logs-57k4 <p>Hi,</p> <p>I’ve been experimenting with a small tool that looks at raw session logs and tries to answer a very simple question:</p> <p>Where do users actually get stuck or loop in production systems?</p> <p>The input is intentionally boring:<br> (session_id, timestamp, event)</p> <p>No rules, no heuristics, no domain-specific assumptions.</p> <p>From this, the tool highlights three things:</p> <p>• Sticky states — places users tend to get stuck<br><br> • Behavior loops — repeating paths users cycle through<br><br> • Transit states — places everyone passes through, but don’t linger </p> <p>Below is an example output generated from a real public-sector website click log.</p> <p>=== Behavior Loop Analyzer ===</p> <p>Sticky States (users get stuck here):</p> <ul> <li>mijn_online_trainingen </li> <li>wdo_014543 </li> <li>ontwikkel-uzelf </li> <li>uitkering-aanvragen </li> <li>ontslag </li> <li>tips-vacatures-bij-cv </li> <li>handleiding </li> <li>PORTAL.wwsec_app_priv.logout </li> <li>zoeken </li> <li>opleiding-zoeken </li> </ul> <p>Behavior Loops (repeating patterns):<br> (Note: shown as-is; in practice the most frequent sub-loops can be surfaced.)</p> <ul> <li>vragenlijst-uwv → foutopgetreden.html → vacatures → mijn_bewijs_van_inschrijving → mijn_documenten → Portal (ignore_request_page) → inschrijven → home → taken → wijziging_doorgeven → mijn_agenda → aanvragen-ww → vacatures_zoeken → zoekBeroep → mijn_werkmap → mijn_berichten → mijn_cv → zoekAantalIndicatief → wdo212395 → mijn_tips → mijn_sollicitaties → vacatures_bij_mijn_cv → wdo211812 → ww → werkmap</li> </ul> <p>Transit States (frequent pass-through):</p> <ul> <li>mijn_cv </li> <li>taken </li> <li>vacatures_bij_mijn_cv </li> <li>vacatures_zoeken </li> <li>aanvragen-ww </li> <li>home </li> <li>mijn_berichten </li> <li>inschrijven </li> <li>mijn_sollicitaties </li> <li>mijn_werkmap </li> </ul> <p>What stood out to me was how error pages (like “foutopgetreden.html”) naturally appear inside long user loops, without explicitly looking for errors.</p> <p>I’m not trying to sell anything here — I’m genuinely trying to understand whether this kind of output is useful in real systems.</p> <p>So my question is simple:</p> <p>If this was generated from your production logs, would it help you say:<br> “Ah — the problem is probably here”?</p> <p>I’d really appreciate honest feedback, especially from people dealing with production systems, observability, or UX issues.</p> devops python opensource