Performance Testing Process

Piotr Pawluk

Purpose.

• First thing you should do, is to define purpose of the tests, e.g.:

• Number of users will increase, and you want to know upfront, that application can handle it.

• It is new application, and you do not know if it can support expected number of users.

• You want to know if application responds fast enough and process expected number of data, to meet business requirements.

• Users complain about some functionality performance, and you want to find the reason.

• …

Tools

Preparation Scripts for automation

• Usually there is no point to test every functionality of the application, so as first step business or system analyst should select which functionalities are (will be) used most intensively. And somebody who knows the application should prepare step by step description of performed activities.

• It is important that these activities will be iterated many times during test, so they should be prepared in the way that it is possible.

Preparation Usage profiles

• Number of concurrent users

• Density of usage

During test particular number of concurrent users will be simulated, with predefined density of activities. So Performance Testing specialist should know it before running the test.

PreparationEnvironment

• Scripts will be recorded, so during preparation some working environment will be necessary. For Performance Test Specialist scripts preparation is the most time consuming part, so environment should be available as early as possible. During recording the system will be used by single user, so it may be used for other types of testing, or for training at the same time.

• Environment for test execution should be as similar to production as possible. The best is to use hardware and system which is dedicated to be production after system go life. During execution the environment will be extensively used, and may be even broken. So at this time no other activities should be performed. And some recovery actions – like system restart- should be prepared.

PreparationAccounts

• Some applications do not require login, some requires, but it does matter how many times same user account logins at the same time, and for some it is important that each user is logged in separately.

• In some systems security has impact on performance, so test accounts should has similar access, as users who use the application most often.

• And for each case required number of test accounts should be prepared – at least one for scripts recording, and full number for test execution.

Preparation Access for monitoring

• If resources monitoring is in scope of performance testing, then performance test specialist should be granted access to tested system for monitoring.

Execution

o Reserve timeslot on environmento Application Specialists to monitor application

Results

If issues where found - somebody will have to fix them, so resources should be secured.

Questions?

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