Testing
Project managers often say there is a need for functional testing—that is, the need to test if a change to the way a particular software behavior works behaves predictably given a specific set of conditions. However, other types of testing that are just as important may not be so obvious. For example, perhaps a change proves to be functionally correct but slows the system down or works only when the volume of transactions is low.
Discuss 2 different types of performance testing. Be sure the examples and definitions you use are of performance tests and not from other types of tests, like Accessibility Testing, Acceptance Testing, Functional Testing, Regression Testing, or Security testing. Stick with tests that are part of Performance Testing.
Why should one be used over the other?
What is the benefit of using these two types of performance tests?
Should different personnel be responsible for different tests, or should the same personnel conduct all tests?
Should different types of performance testing be conducted in any specific order? Why or why not?
Testing
Performance testing is conducted to check if the software can run under a set condition in a specific workload. The conditions include speed, scalability, stability, endurance, load, and volume. The performance determines if the response time, throughput, and resource utilization levels are achieved according to the performance objectives set for a project. Comparing between types of performance tests will enable further understanding of this function. The two examples are load testing and endurance testing.
Load testing is the process of measuring the performance of a system based on the workload. The workload measured is the concurrent transactions or users as it increases. Load testing is done to monitor the response period and the power the system can withhold as the workload increases (Laaber et al., 2018). The workload has to fall within the normal working conditions parameters. Endurance testing, also called soak testing, determines if the software generally works over an extended time within a normal workload. Endurance testing aims to check if there are issues like memory leaks in the system. The test also analyzes other success factors like potential errors.
The two types of performance testing are important since load testing measures the workload while endurance testing measures the amount of time taken to determine if the software works correctly. None should be used over the other. They give developers the proper diagnostic information needed to get rid of bottlenecks, mistakes and bugs. In performing this task, the same person should be used throughout. That is because a professional can identify all errors in software performance testing. There is no order of performance of these tests whatsoever. A security professional can conduct the tests depending on how he views the situation and knows best.
Reference
Laaber, C., Scheuner, J., & Leitner, P. (2018). Performance testing in the cloud. how bad is it really?. PeerJ Preprints, 6, e3507v1.
