System performance can be defined as an essential aspect of a computer system determining its efficiency and productivity. Performance testing refers to a non-functional software testing process that evaluates the key measurements of a software application, such as speed, stability, response time, resource usage, scalability, reliability, and others. According to Takanen et al. (2018), “performance testing attempts to prove that a system can handle a specific amount of load (traffic, sessions, transactions, etc.)” (p. 18). Alternatively, this process can be referred to as load or stress testing. Performance testing is important since it estimates whether the application’s performance meets the customer’s expectation, thus affecting business success and continuity.
Performance engineering is a crucial discipline aiming to provide business value by utilizing efficient practices and techniques throughout software development. The purpose of performance testing as a subcategory of performance engineering is to integrate performance standards into the system’s implementation, architecture, and design. There are several types of performance testing, such as:
- load testing,
- stress testing,
- soak testing,
- spike testing,
- breakpoint testing,
- configuration testing,
- isolation testing,
- internet testing (Takanen et al., 2018).
Load testing is usually carried out to evaluate the application’s behavior under a given expected load. Stress testing is used to assess the system’s reliability during extreme or disproportionate loads and test system performance if the current load exceeds the anticipated maximum. Soak testing is a load test that establishes whether the application can sustain the continuous load. Alternatively, spike testing can be carried out to assess the software’s behavior in situations when it receives an extreme variation in traffic, such as a rapid increase or decrease. Breakpoint testing can alternatively be called capacity testing since it evaluates the maximum capacity of a system under which it can perform accordingly to the required specifications. Configuration testing is another type of traditional performance testing, where the influence of changes in the configuration on the performance is tested. Isolation testing allows for locating and fixing bugs and defects since it breaks down the system and isolates separate modules. Finally, internet testing is a recent type of performance testing conducted by large applications which requires substantial preparation and monitoring.
As can be seen, each performance testing type pursues the goal of ensuring that a software application will demonstrate satisfactory performance under the expected workload. Furthermore, there are two approaches to software performance testing. Regarding workload, the software is tested in conditions involving various scenarios and cases. Alternatively, real end-users can test the system as part of beta testing. It is worth noting that the performance requirements need to be detailed and documented in a performance testing plan. As to the performance testing methodology, several steps can be implemented for successful outcomes. To begin with, planning, test configuration, and validation must be conducted as the first step, followed by baseline testing and scaling of the tests. Ongoing performance testing and automation are the final steps of the recommended methodology.
Overall, performance testing is an important process in software engineering. Primarily, it aims to determine how an application performs under a specific load (Takanen et al., 2018). It can also be used to check and validate other attributes of system quality such as scalability, reliability, resource consumption, speed, or response time. This process is critical since it reveals the system’s behavior and response during various scenarios and situations and thus defines customer satisfaction.
Reference
Takanen, A., Demott, J. D., Miller, C., & Kettunen, A. (2018). Fuzzing for software security testing and quality assurance (2nd ed.). Artech House.