Find out why application performance tests are so important, what they mean for the development process, and how to acquire the knowledge you need to carry them out.

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Performance testing is the testing practice performed to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability, under a particular workload.

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They help build faster and more reliable applications

As software is more and more integrated in people’s everyday activities, resolving relevant aspects of their lives, it is essential for the applications to be robust, reliable, and for them to offer fast responses, even in times of high demand.

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With that in mind, it is becoming increasingly necessary to carry out performance tests, as applications are released to validate the behavior they will have when facing heavy usages and high demands.

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They reduce risks and offer stability for releases

The costs of having issues in production are usually very high. Performance tests are the right option to detect these issues early on, and to correct them before releasing an application or when facing load, stress and concurrency scenarios.

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The response times obtained from the different tests allow you to detect and focus on the less efficient application procedures. You can thus perform optimizations to ensure a better user experience for the services being offered.

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By monitoring the server and other infrastructure elements when performing the tests, it is possible to detect any existing bottlenecks, to make any necessary configuration adjustments and to optimize how resources are allocated.

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Carrying out performance tests is not that simple

Experience is essential when carrying out performance tests because of the technical complexity of the activities involved in the process.

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As a performance tester, you need to possess a thorough understanding of the system, its features, the context of use and the implemented architecture. Performance testers must determine the most challenging scenarios the application will be facing and use those scenarios to design the required tests.

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The scripts that are generally used during these types of tests replicate the sessions of a user who is executing a series of actions or processes within the system. For web applications, the flow of HTTP requests between the client and the server is usually automated. This is typically a complex activity which usually accounts for most of the hours spent on a performance project.

When carrying out the tests, it is also essential to have a load generation tool in order to design and execute the different planned tests, and to gather information related to the application’s performance during the tests. One of the most widely used tools for these tests is Apache JMeter, as it offers both the necessary flexibility and robustness to perform the tests.

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In parallel with the execution of the tests, it is necessary to monitor the server and the infrastructure, so you need to know not only about the required tools, but also which indicators are the most important for each component in the solution and how to interpret the results.

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Once the tests have been completed, it is necessary to analyze the information that was gathered in order to detect improvement opportunities for the solution.

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It is vital to understand all of the aforementioned aspects in order to successfully carry out performance tests.

Performance Testing United offers a proven process, best practices, and a specific training for performance.

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What does the PtU training program offer?

This certification responds to the needs of the industry since, nowadays, these types of tests are crucial for most software systems.

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It goes through the appropriate procedures to carry them out, detailing each of the stages, their concepts, and main activities.

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The PtU training offers a practical approach, oriented towards using JMeter, a free tool which is widely used to design and execute performance tests because of its flexibility and robustness. In this context, you will be able to learn about the different features offered by the tool; in addition to understanding the HTTP protocols, you will develop your first scripts during the course, learning how to record them, parameterize and carry out the correlation process. They will also be able to execute tests and analyze the results.

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With the aim to offer a comprehensive training, the course also deals with matters related to the planning and monitoring processes using open-source tools, and to the analysis of the gathered information and the development of reports.

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The course is especially recommended to Software Testers, Performance Testers, Performance Engineers, Test Leads and QA Managers.