Performance and load times are the two major factors that have become extremely important for consumer-based web applications. Consider a scenario where your web app performs exceptionally well with a limited number of users but shows sluggishness with a high user load. It will leave a bad impression on the users and it is likely that your users may try out your competitor’s app (or website).
Nowadays, a full-fledged digital experience goes well beyond page load time and page speed. This is where performance testing becomes critical as it helps in testing the non-functional aspects of the website (or web app) from performance, reliability, stability, and responsiveness under a particular workload. In case you are just getting started with performance testing, make sure to check out our comprehensive guide to performance testing.
So, how do you plan a multi-layered testing approach to ensure that all the pointers in the performance testing checklist are adhered to? In this blog, we deep dive into some of the best practices for performance testing. These practices are curated through our extensive experience of servicing our global clientele in realizing their performance testing needs.
Here are some of the essential tips that will help in building a fail-proof (or fool-proof) performance testing strategy. These tips can be implemented irrespective of the size, scale, or complexity of the software project.
1. Plan Timing Using All Perspectives
A typical user might not be using your application on a continuous basis. There is a lot of think time involved in the entire process. Take the case of an online shopping website (or application) where the user has to pause to enter the details about the credit card/debit card to continue with the shopping process.
When working on a performance testing strategy, it is essential to take this ‘time time’ into consideration so that the test scenario is mostly in line with the activities performed by the end-users.
Partnering with a company like KiwiQA that specializes in providing performance testing services can be useful in planning and executing the performance testing plan.
Also Read – Fundamentals of Performance Testing: A Guide For Amateurs and Professionals
2. Learn From Earlier Experiments
Performance testing is no different from other forms of testing where there is an opportunity to learn from the strategies executed in the earlier projects. Make a note of all the executed experiments from a performance testing point of view.
It is also important to run performance tests under pre-conditions that were set when the user was using your website (or application). These pre-conditions are vital to ensure that tests are performed in the same conditions else it would be difficult to replicate the actual user issue.
An exceptional performance tester not only learns from the earlier experiments but also takes a cue from similar projects. Experimental learning and cross-project learning will go a long way in building a fool-proof performance testing strategy.
3. Craft An All-Round Testing Strategy
Like other forms of testing, the performance testing plan will largely depend on the project type and functionalities built into the product. Hence, an ample amount of time should be dedicated to the planning and execution of the performance testing strategy.
Though performance testing is a form of non-functional testing, it is advantageous to deep dive into how the essential elements interact in the software stack. You should give importance to the expectations that users have from a performance point of view.
Planning, a deeper understanding of the user persona, and frictionless execution will go a long way in executing performance testing strategy at scale.
Also Read – Key Performance Metrics for Effective Performance Testing
4. Zero In On the Performance Blocker
Wouldn’t it help if you can locate the performance issue(s) in the project (or a certain module) before the user(s) experience the same? Irrespective of whether you are an experienced tester or a newbie tester, it is essential to consider things at a micro-level instead of the macro-level.
What this essentially means is that it is worth taking a shot at performance testing from a module perspective rather than testing at the product level. Though this approach might look a bit time-consuming, it will reap huge benefits in the long run, as performance issues identified at the module level do not make it to the final product.
5. Perform Automated Performance Testing
A majority of the organizations use Agile methodologies for product development and testing. Along with this, they also use CI/CD tools to make sure that testing is performed for every line of code that makes it to the release.
Automated performance tests can be run at various components of the technology stack. This helps in identifying performance issues at different levels of the product stack.
Apart from faster test results, the other advantage of automated performance testing is the tests are run in an isolated manner at every level of the stack. Hence, performance tests run at one level do not interfere with the tests performed in the other levels of the tech stack.
Along with automated performance testing, you should run performance tests on the baseline release of the software product. Isolating performance issues during the baseline testing is much easier than looking out for potential issues at a larger stage of product development.
Also Read – JMeter Vs. Locust- Performance Testing Tools
It’s A Wrap
We are living in hyper-competitive times where consumers (as well as customers) have a number of product options up their sleeves. Hence, it is important to win them over with products that not only have exceptional features but also function well under different stress (or load) conditions.
This is where performance testing plays a pivotal in ensuring that the product works without any glitches under different stress conditions. Taking support from a performance testing company can help in building a fool-proof testing strategy. For instance, a software testing company like KiwiQA has rich experience in serving different categories of clients for realizing their performance testing plans. This domain competency can be super useful in building a fool-proof performance testing strategy that is built on the lines mentioned in the blog.
It is important to also factor in automated performance testing so that performance tests can be a part of the release process. How do you plan performance testing of your product? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section of this blog.
