Top 6 Practices to Deploy Application Performance Testing

ImpactQA
4 min readNov 9, 2021

Application performance testing has already been popular and effective since the debut of software applications. It’s possible to conceive of it as crucial software development and IT function that has previously been mostly self-contained. For a company to get a qualitative and financial reputation in the market, application performance testing is the best option.

However, there are certain dangers lurking in the shadows that may steal the show and cause trouble. The performance testing team must correctly handle a variety of situations and inquiries in order to effectively manage such risks. “Will the app execute as expected?” or “How will the app behave in diverse situations?” are two examples. Such issues can be avoided by understanding the performance characteristics of the target application.

The approach is to prioritize performance concerns within your testing environment. Hence, you must look into issues affecting application performance by focusing on system functioning under stress. Further, the use of application performance management (APM) technologies that replicate production scenarios, do give a better insight into app functionality and overall performance under notable stress or load.

Let’s start with an overview of application performance testing before moving on to best practices.

What is Application Performance Testing?

For an enterprise or organization to direct maximum users to their application, it is essential for the app to work smoothly. Therefore, the company works to ensure that the application’s performance fulfills expectations, and this is carried out by mimicking the conditions and workloads they expect their apps will face during the production phase. Ultimately, the performance is tested as per those replicated conditions and workloads.

On a broader front, application performance testing is an exquisite function that helps to deliver quantitative answers to questions related to the scalability, stability, and responsiveness of an application versus its expectations.

Best Practices for Application Performance Testing

Here we will discuss a few best practices for planning and implementing a well-structured application performance testing scheme. It is a merger of old-fashioned and contemporary approaches that directly replicates the elemental changes in the global IT settings.

1. Invest in a DevOps Approach

IT businesses realized the need to combine development and IT operations activities shortly after the minimalist movement influenced Agile. As a result, the DevOps methodology emerged, in which developers and IT professionals collaborate to conceive, produce, and deliver software applications. To be clear, DevOps should specifically involve developers, testers, and IT operations functioning together to carry out performance tests against the final product as a team.

2. Test Early and Frequently

Performance testing is sometimes a throwaway, which is carried out in a rush at a later stage in the development cycle. But the actual method should be handled in a pro-active manner. For this, consider an agile strategy that employs iterative testing throughout the development life cycle. Moreover, permit performance unit testing to be part of the development process and later repeat the similar tests on a wider scale across subsequent stages to analyze the application preparation or maturity.

3. Utilize the Batch of Available Tests

If you take a look around, there is a growing trend where DevOps and IT teams associate performance testing and load testing. The convenience here lies in the fact that more data intelligence is always a safer bet, especially when the teams are working towards expanding their programming approach. Here is a list of effective tests which come in handy.

Load tests– You can see them as volume tests as they generate traffic volumes that are similar to those found in real-world production situations. After then, the loads are directed at the application that is being tested. Simulating demand on a software application or resource indicates how the app will behave under certain conditions in advance.

Spike tests — These allow teams to see how their apps will perform when they are under the most stress. It’s important for a business to determine how effectively their app can manage extraordinarily large numbers of daily visitors and transaction rates.

Stress tests — These tests evaluate how much the software can withstand, the ultimate limit, before breaking and failing. It can further be used to determine a system’s capacity. You perform a stress test with increasing loads until the quality requirements are breached.

Soak tests — Such tests are intended to simulate large traffic loads with extended periods. They demonstrate how software apps perform in the face of continued high demand that includes large transaction rates, numerous concurrent users, etc. You can view these tests as effective in detecting issues such as memory leaks which only appear over a long stretch of time.

4. Perform System Performance Tests

Many different complicated systems, such as databases, web services, application servers, legacy systems, and etc, make up modern applications. All of these systems must be separately and collectively performance evaluated. This assists in exposing weak links, determining which systems negatively influence others, and determining which systems to segregate for additional performance optimization.

5. Keep the Users in Mind

The performance of servers and networks executing software is frequently the only target of performance testing. Remember that humans use software, therefore performance testing should include a human component. The user experience should be considered throughout tests; also, user interface-time should be recorded alongside server data.

6. Consistently Reporting & Result Analysis

Design and execution of performance tests are critical, but so are test reports. Reports inform everyone in your company, especially project managers and developers, on the outcomes of your application’s activity. Consistently analyzing and reporting results aids in the development of future fixes. The developer reports need to be distinct from the ones provided to project managers, owners, and corporate executives.

In reality, the best method to do application performance testing is through meticulous planning and scheduling ahead of time. Make sure you test frequently, and using an add-on allows you to test all aspects simultaneously and individually on an end-to-end basis.

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