Performance Testing

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Performance testing

Performance testing is a test type of software testing that tests how a software application performs under different workloads. Performance testing measures quality aspects such as latency, response time, reliability, stability, and resource usage of the software. Performance testing helps to find the performance issues and determine the performance of the software.

Performance testing examples

• You test the performance of your online banking website by simulating different numbers of concurrent users (using the website at the same time) and transactions. You measure the latency, response time, throughput, and error rate of the website under different workloads and scenarios (virtual users ramp-up, duration, and ramp-down)
• You test the performance of your video streaming app by simulating different network bandwidths and latency. You note the buffering time, video quality, and video playback smoothness under different network conditions.
• You test the performance of your database system by simulating different types and volumes of data queries. You measure the query execution time, CPU and memory usage, and disk I/O of the system under different workloads.
• You test the performance of your game application by simulating different graphics settings and user actions. You measure the rendering time, video frame rate, and audio quality of the game under different graphics settings.

Tips for performance testing

• Identify the performance requirements and technical specifications for your software.
• Select and design the performance business processes that cover the most realistic and critical test scenarios for your software.
• Use standard performance testing tools and techniques to script, execute and automate your performance scenarios.
• Analyze and report the performance test results and identify any performance bottlenecks (improvement areas) or issues.

FAQ (interview questions and answers)

1. What is the difference between performance testing and functional testing?
   Performance testing is a type of non-functional testing that tests how a software application performs under different workloads. Functional testing is a type of testing that tests the functionality and features of the software against the requirements and specifications.
2. What metrics have you used in performance testing?
   Latency, response time, throughput, error rate, resource utilization, etc.
3. Is load testing a type of performance testing?
   Yes, load testing is a type of performance testing that tests how a software performs under specific workloads e.g. during regular business hours on weekdays, and during weekend sale.
4. How do you perform stress testing?
   By gradually increasing the workload on the software to an extreme to find out it's upper performance limit.

Remember to just comment if you have any doubts or queries.