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Performance Testing – An Overview

by admin | Jan 18, 2019 | Performance Testing, Blog | 0 comments

With practically all aspects of business now becoming digitised, there is a significant reliance on software programs, applications and systems. The streamlining and efficiency of business operations today rely heavily on smooth, seamless and glitch free performance of the software that they use. This makes load testing and performance testing vitally important processes for any business now.

Companies that are conscientious about quality assurance practices now choose QA outsourcing to ensure that they save time, resources and man hours that they would otherwise fritter away because of inadequately tested or unstable software.

What is performance testing?

When a load testing company is called upon to do this type of testing, what exactly does this mean? Here, the software testing company will examine the system’s ability to bear added workload during busier times and ability to handle multiplicity of transactions vis-à-vis response time, system stability, speed and scalability. Stress or fatigue testing is another part of the load testing process. It examines what happens when the system is put under the stress of work overload outside the usual parameters of usual working conditions. The point of failure and ability to recover from a crash are other aspects that testers will check.

A QA company will undertake spike testing and endurance testing to see how the system holds up when there is a sudden and large surge in workload as well as when the system is kept operational for extended periods of time. Testers will also look for any memory leaks that could impair performance. Scalability and volume testing are other testing modalities that companies offering QA services use for comprehensive testing.

Importance of performance testing

Load testing and testing various aspects of software for performance is vital for a number of reasons. It helps to identify bottlenecks and vulnerabilities in the system, which in turn will help prevent breakdowns and crashes while keeping the system safe from attack. Testers will identify performance problems or flaws that could cause the software to lag or malfunction and will also ensure that the system meets specifications. Hence a load testing service provider can help to streamline operations and reduce downtime; which can have the positive end result of reducing waste in terms of productivity, time and money.

The quality of the app here could literally mean the difference between a sale made or a sale lost. A slow, glitch or clumsily designed app could confuse or irritate a user, causing them to abandon their cart; turning to another online store with a better, faster, more attractive app! If, as an online retailer, you are wondering whether software testing is worth your while, consider some of these statistics: if it takes more than about three seconds for a website to load, over half of the customers – as many as 57% – will leave the website.

A delay of even one second, a glitch, or an unresponsive app lowers conversion rates. People simply don’t have the time and patience to wait for slow or heavy app that is clunky when moving between the different pages of a website. Customers today have so many other options that you want to ensure that you offer your customers a positive enough experience to make them want to stay with you!

From the foregoing, the vital role that performance and load testing play in the working of a business – in terms of both operations and profitability; becomes obvious. Engaging the services of a qualified QA company with an experienced, top notch team can be something that pays for itself in the long term – which is why do connect with us now.

Application Performance Testing – Planning & Execution

by admin | Feb 7, 2019 | Performance Testing, Blog | 0 comments

When a person downloads or buys an application of any sort, the most important expectation that they have from it is that the app should perform well. It is be fast, easy to use and should efficiently do what it is supposed to. It other words it has to perform to expectations. Hence, performance testing and load testing are such important parts of a QA company’s job. We look at how a load testing company would typically plan for and test apps for businesses.

Planning and strategy for performance testing

A software testing company will usually build a whole test strategy and identify the kinds of tests that will help perfect an app. Testers would keep user expectations and component interactions in mind to prepare a detailed test strategy. Scalability and app capacity are aspects testers will examine, so that overall software and hardware costs can be reduced. In order to resolve production issues, testers will also verify that the given app adequately meets performance requirements. Load testing is carried out to analyse system reaction to all sorts of user loads, both current as well as anticipating any changed usage requirements of the future. Discussions with the technical team members, developers and other stakeholders may be necessary to these current and future requirements so that end users enjoy the best possible experience.

One of the main aims of performance testing is to identify performance bottlenecks by examining the module as a whole as well as by testing individual components. The test structure will depend upon business requirements and projected real load scenarios while also conforming to HTTP standards.

Load testing will examine the app’s capacity and ability to manage the stress of concurrent users. It will try and minimise downtime and increase return on investment, while ensuring that the app enjoys a smooth rollout.

How a QA company carries out performance testing

QA services providers also bring a wealth of earlier experiences to the testing table. They will continue to carry out testing under consistent conditions to accurately identify the reasons behind issues that crop up. Continuous observation helps create a customised filtering system that helps testers get to the root of the problem. Since meeting deadlines for rollout is an important aspect of the testing process, software testing services will also implement baseline tests to try and quickly identify most major flaws in the system. This is a time saving device which a load testing company will often employ in order to save time and resources that would be expended in conducting full load tests.

Another aspect of performance testing is to factor in think-time. This is the time lag that will general occur when the end user is switching from one to another section of the app, or when they open their browser to cross check details such as pricing or specs, or when they pause to get their credit card or other payment details.

Application performance and load testing is an important process with far-reaching consequences. Hence, it makes sense to entrust the job to QA outsourcing rather than to handle it in-house. Connect with us to know why we are the go-to QA Company.

Why do we need to do performance testing on elearning application?

by admin | Dec 16, 2018 | Performance Testing, Blog | 0 comments

E-Learning applications is growing in popularity among the education industry and many organization’s now encourage workplace e-learning programs for their organizational learning needs. Many applications fail due to underestimating software requirements, extending the application features, lost of insight on integrating multiple applications,

and testing such large applications on minimal hardware. One should know that the requirement of performance is non-negotiable.

Slow applications are not successful, if your application is under-performing then you are lagging behind the competition which results in unsatisfied users and clients. We accept features and functionality of an application should needed to be tested but there are some non-functional requirements like performance which is of equal importance.

Some of our findings on application’s poor performance are due to:

• 1. Unplanned increases in workload due to e-tutoring, content development, lesson preparation (virtual classrooms) so that the CPU and memory usage of the server shoots up.
• 2. Early content implementations are heavily customized and insufficient attention paid to the future amendment.
• 3. No pilot process for step-by-step development leading to large scale rollout and no process for measuring the performance of all software and hardware elements relating to application’s performance.
• 4. No knowledge on running the tests in parallel and observe the behavior of hardware and obtaining the time of response of the request to the server.

Services we provide for the above problems:

• 1. Application’s performance diagnostics
• 2. Performance Monitoring
• 3. Bottleneck analysis and bench-marking
• 4. Capacity planning and modeling
• 5. Performance Test Suite Development
• 6. Test harnesses and environment virtualization

Modern Learning Management Systems are web-based, device friendly, easy to navigate, integrate with internal systems, monitors the user/ learner engagement through detailed analysis report. So a system or an application with such features should give importance to the application’s stability at all times.

What Is Load Testing?

by admin | Aug 4, 2018 | Performance Testing, Blog | 0 comments

Did you realize that there are over 5 million apps available for download on both the Android and Apple marketplaces? In order to make the app you offer consumers more appealing, you need to keep it both reliable and engaging.

Unless you have extensive experience with the development and maintaining of apps, it can be difficult to catch and fix issues with these programs in a timely manner. Often times, hiring app development and IT professionals to help with this type of work is essential.

It is your job as the owner of the app in question to ensure it is ready for widespread use by the general public. Luckily, there are a variety of things you can do to test these programs to find out about problems before they cause widespread outages.

Read below to find out more about load testing and why it is essential to keeping an app functional and running efficiently.

The Ins and Outs of Load Testing
You may be asking yourself, why do I need to load test my app? The short answer to this question is that load testing can help you find out about any problems or vulnerabilities your app may have.

During a load test, apps and software programs have ordinary stress applied to them to see if they can handle it. Exposing the app to a sudden influx of traffic and widespread use is essential before releasing this program for mass consumption.

The last thing you want is to have your app crash due to infrastructure issues or design flaws. If problems are discovered during the load test, an app developer can address them with ease.

Are You Expecting an Onslaught of New Traffic to Your App?
If you are launching a full frontal marketing campaign to get people to use your app, making sure it is ready for this traffic increase is a must. Large apps and websites are constantly load testing their programs to address any problems that may exist.

Back in 2003, Amazon experienced server overload issues due to a simple pricing error. This situation ended in litigation and Amazon lost a lot of money as a result.

Even government sites are susceptible to being overloaded. Most people remember when the Obama Care website crashed shortly after launch due to a server overload. Individuals who were tied to the Obama Care site say that it never underwent load testing, which is one of the main reasons it was unprepared for large amounts of traffic.

With the help of load testing and monitoring for your key systems, you can keep your apps and programs running strong for years to come.

Getting a Better Understanding of the User’s Experience
Many of the cloud-based load testing programs on the market allow you to record video of the test as it progresses. This means you can get a step by step breakdown of the experience consumers have when they visit your site or use your app.

Getting the outsider perspective of your app can help you see where changes need to be made. Continually optimizing your app can help you keep it relevant and popular. Resting on your laurels is a recipe for disaster in the ever changing world of apps and software.

You need to work hard to ensure your app stays on the cutting edge of technology, which is why running routine load tests is so important.

Discovering Third Party Issues
Many apps use third party software to do everything from host their images to handling the chat function they provide to consumers. Without routine testing, it will be hard to discover problems with these third party providers.

It is crucial that every element of your app works for people using it. Load testing your app will make any problems with third party software very obvious. While a third party program may work fine when there is low traffic on the app, some programs buckle under the pressure of increased traffic.

Rather than waiting until one of these problems makes your app crash, you need to take proactive measures by load testing on a regular basis.

Testing the Water After App Updates
As any app developer knows, constantly updating these programs is the only way to keep them functional and safe. After major updates are performed within an app, it is a good idea to load test it. With the information from the load test, you can see whether or not current updates are causing functionality issues with your app.

If there are issues with an update, you may have to get your app developer to roll it back or alter it in some way. While these types of issues are common, you don’t want them to affect the functionality of your app.

The Best Defense is a Good Offense
Taking proactive measures to keep your app running correctly is vital. With load testing and continuous app monitoring, you can bring issues to light that may lead to app instability.