PerformanceTests

PerformanceTests refer to a collection of non-functional testing activities designed to assess how a software system behaves under various workloads. The primary objectives are to measure speed and responsiveness, ensure stability over time, and validate that performance targets stated in requirements or SLAs are achievable.

Common types include load testing (behavior under expected peak load), stress testing (beyond peak to determine breaking points), endurance testing (stability over extended periods), spike testing (rapid load increases), and scalability testing (capacity to handle growth).

Key metrics tracked in PerformanceTests include response time and latency, throughput, error rate, and resource utilization such as CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network bandwidth. Percentiles (for example p95, p99) are often used to summarize tail latency. The goal is to identify bottlenecks and estimate capacity and performance ceilings.

Typical workflow involves defining performance criteria, building workload models, configuring a test environment, executing tests, monitoring systems, collecting metrics, and analyzing results. Baselines are established for comparison; tests are repeated after optimizations to verify improvements. Test data should be representative and the environment as close to production as feasible to obtain meaningful results.

Tools commonly used in PerformanceTests include JMeter, Gatling, Locust, k6, and commercial solutions such as LoadRunner. Outputs often include graphs and reports that help stakeholders decide on capacity planning, tuning, and potential architectural changes.