For optimal reaction times and load capacity
Performance testing gives you insight into the behavior of your software. The focus of the performance test is to gain insight into the response times experienced by the user and the potential load capacity of the system. To determine these response times, various performance test types can be employed. Polteq has broad knowledge of and experience with various performance testing tools. Polteq is completely independent and has no preference for specific tools. The tools best suited to the task are used. A performance test is always performed with a group of test users specified for you.
Steps to successful performance testing
Our way of working is characterized by the following structured approach:
1 Aligning assignment
Depending on your needs and requirements and based on our experience, Polteq suggests one or more performance test types. The test focuses specifically on potential bottlenecks as identified or expected by the organization. Consider:
- Excessive application response times
- Concerns about application response times during high loads
- Overly long processing times of business logic
- Insufficient bandwidth
- Insufficient database connections
2 Establish requirements and prepare test plan
Before a performance test can be performed, we determine what requirements the system should meet. Polteq helps establish realistic and concrete requirements. This can be done by distilling requirements from designs to facilitating workshops with appropriate stakeholders.
The test plan gives you an understanding of what to expect from the test, what the test will give you, when it will take place and the costs involved.
3 Performing tests
During the performance test execution, the agreed test types are performed. The most important two, load testing and performance measurement, are explained below.
Load test
To determine the load capacity of an application or a chain, a load test is performed under predetermined conditions. A load test is a two-sided test; the tester executes automated operations on the system that imitate user behaviour and records whether the system responds fast enough and whether no errors occur. During this test, the system is stressed with a predetermined load.
Performance measurement
In addition to load testing, it is often desirable to measure system performance as perceived by users. To measure user experience, automated testing of user actions is employed. It performs the same actions an end user would and measures the system’s responsiveness. During these measurements, the load on the system is increased to the predetermined values to determine how the user experience is affected by the load.
4 Reporting and presenting results
The results of the performance tests conducted by Polteq include not only a representation of the data collected, but also the cause(s) of the performance problems and, where possible, recommended improvements.
