The importance of Load Testing

The latest software applications need to be compatible across a plethora of digital platforms. These include devices, operating systems, browsers, frameworks, third-party APIs, and networks. However, the success of such applications can only be ensured if they are able to function seamlessly across the above-mentioned digital elements or channels for peak load conditions. In other words, the applications should perform accurately and without any issues (latency, downtime, etc) should they be subjected to specific load patterns. However, to ensure the software performs to its optimum capacity when faced with extreme loads, it should undergo load testing.

What is load testing?

As non-functional testing, it is carried out to find out the behavior of a software application under specific load threshold. A software application load testing helps to determine a system’s behavior during normal and peak traffic conditions. For example, during Black Friday sales in the West, people throng retail or eCommerce stores in droves. And unless these systems have undergone load testing, they can get overwhelmed leading to system latency, downtime, or worse, crashes. This type of application performance testing is meant to check an application’s performance in the event of a large number of users trying to access it at the same time.

What does application load testing tell us?

The following outcomes can be determined by subjecting an application to load testing.

·       Identify if the hosting infrastructure is sufficient to run the application.

·       Find if the application is able to perform to its optimum when subjected to its peak user load.

·       Verify the number of simultaneous users the application can handle. Also, evaluate the hardware configuration, network capacity, and other considerations the application may require to function optimally.

·       Identify the specific element in the application that is causing the deterioration in performance. For example, in the event of an increase in user count, the testing would throw light on the quantum of memory and processor usage, and response time for network bandwidth.

Benefits of load performance testing

To ensure software applications perform to their optimum when maximum number of users try to access them at the same time, they should undergo rigorous load testing. The benefits to accrue from such a type of performance testing include:

Stimulation of real-time user scenarios: It is important to know how an application, website, or API shall behave when accessed by a large number of users at a given point in time. It is needed to prevent situations like system latency, downtime, or crashes, which have the potential to mar customer experience and confidence. Simulating real user scenarios can help in identifying bugs or understanding bottlenecks that may impact the application when put to real use.

Measurement of the quality of product or service: Application performance testing measures the quality of a product or service as per the user behavior. Testers using tools like LoadRunner, Blitz, BlazeMeter, CloudTest, and Apache JMeter evaluate an app or website’s performance under actual load conditions. Also, the testing exercise monitors the throughput of servers, memory, CPU, and other hardware elements when subjected to extreme load thresholds.

Analysis of key performance parameters: Testers, through application load testing, can identify a slew of performance parameters. These include throughput, response time per transaction, delay in network between server response and client request, or design issues. Further, configuration issues like database server, application server, web server, memory limitation, and CPU maximization are identified.

Improved scalability: This type of performance testing helps testers to find out the actual quantum of load that an application, web portal, or server can support. The information can be of great help when developers need to scale up the infrastructure as per the changing business demand. Besides, in order to preempt special load scenarios like Black Friday, music festivals, or sporting events witnessing a surge in traffic, testers can perform special load testing.

Prevention of application failure: Any application may contain a hidden glitch, which, if not identified and mitigated in time, can lead to its failure. Such failures can manifest themselves when the load is beyond the capacity of the application to handle. This is where load testing can help by detecting such issues early on in the SDLC. If not, such failures can incur huge costs for organizations and impact their brands adversely.

Conclusion

Load testing can help an organization to evaluate the capacity of an application or website. It ensures user satisfaction in the case of a surge in traffic and renders superior performance for the software. This type of testing should be made a part of the usual QA process to preempt software failure.