Add alerting for data issues

[samtstern]

We should get an alert if:

• Any cloud functions crash
• If we are unable to locate the README for a project
• If we are unable to locate the LICENSE for a project

Right now things mostly fail silently.

[drraghavendra]

There are a few different ways to add alerting for data issues in Google products and services.

Google Cloud Monitoring

Google Cloud Monitoring is a powerful tool that can be used to monitor the health and performance of your Google Cloud resources. It can also be used to create alerts for a variety of data issues, such as:

Missing data
Data quality issues
Data integrity issues
Data security issues
To create an alert in Google Cloud Monitoring, you will need to create an alerting policy. Alerting policies define the conditions that must be met for an alert to be triggered. For example, you could create an alerting policy that triggers an alert if the number of missing data points for a metric exceeds a certain threshold.

Once you have created an alerting policy, you can configure it to send notifications to you and your team via email, SMS, or other channels.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics also provides some basic alerting capabilities. For example, you can create custom alerts to be notified when certain metrics, such as website traffic or conversion rates, drop below or rise above a certain threshold.

To create a custom alert in Google Analytics, go to Customization > Custom Alerts. Then, click + NEW ALERT and configure the alert to your liking.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free service that can be used to monitor the web for mentions of specific keywords or phrases. You can use Google Alerts to set up alerts for data issues, such as when your company is mentioned in the news in a negative way or when there is a spike in social media complaints about your products or services.

To create a Google Alert, go to Google Alerts and enter the keywords or phrases that you want to monitor. Then, configure the alert to your liking.

Third-party tools

There are also a number of third-party tools that can be used to create alerts for data issues in Google products and services. These tools typically offer more advanced features than the native alerting capabilities provided by Google.

Some popular third-party alerting tools include:

Datadog
New Relic
AppDynamics
Splunk
Sumo Logic
How to choose the right alerting solution

The best alerting solution for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements. If you are using Google Cloud Platform, then Google Cloud Monitoring is a good option. If you are using Google Analytics, then you can use the built-in alerting capabilities or a third-party tool.

If you need more advanced alerting capabilities, or if you need to monitor data from a variety of different sources, then a third-party alerting tool may be the best option for you.

Here are some additional tips for adding alerting for data issues in Google products and services:

Identify the data issues that you want to monitor. What are the most important metrics to your business? What data quality issues are you most concerned about?
Choose the right alerting solution. Consider your specific needs and requirements when choosing an alerting solution.
Configure your alerts carefully. Make sure that your alerts are triggered at the right time and that they are sent to the right people.
Test your alerts regularly. Make sure that your alerts are working as intended by testing them regularly.
Monitor your alerts and respond promptly. When you receive an alert, investigate the issue and take corrective action as needed.