RE: What do I need to know to do load testing in addition to knowing how to use the Load-Runner tool?
In addition to knowing the tool :
- Management aspects of Load Testing, Planning being paramount - Requirements gathering, Profile/Mix, SLA, Acceptance Criteria.... - an general understanding of the protocol you are working with, developers can be unhelpful - a basic understanding of C programming - know that you WILL be working with diminishing timescales and you are really at the END of the lifecycle - as a result of the above you may have to work unsociable hours including weekends - Managers and other "Powes that be" - "Box tickers" will not understand your plight - You need to be able to communicate effectively at all levels with different departments from Business to Dev to Sys Test - voice your problems as soon as possible - Planning Planning - Fail to Plan - Plan to FAIL
RE: What do I need to know to do load testing in addit...
Hello, I cannot agree with you more. Thanks for the advice. I'm in to a Performance testing project where I'm in the planning stages. What all do I need to think through? in the Planning stages. The reqts r yet to be freezed. I'm asked to work on a stratergy document and I typically think in terms of transactions. I don't seem to go else where other than trasaction so please tell me what point r generally included in stratergy/planning document?
RE: What do I need to know to do load testing in addition to knowing how to use the Load-Runner tool?
Dear Friend, I hope you have Completly understand the Application Business Process you will be testing. Secondly you have better Understanding on the Infrastructure Architecture you will be Testing and the application would be deployed. Thirdly you should have the informathion on WorkLoad that the test needs (Business process to test, Transactions to Achieve, TPS to achieve, Goal Oriented or Transaction Oriented ). These things are Important before you start the Planning/Statergy document as you will have to document all these in the statergy document.
The Plan and Statergy doc includes Introduction. Short Description of the application. What is the objective of the testing. Distribution List. Inscope/Outscope of the test. Test Mix/Scenraios. Business Process Identified (Document with Click Stream, VUgen will generate BP document). Attach Document of the Infrastructure configuration of your test environment (You can get it from your IT team). Test tentative Schedule. Description of the Tests you would perform, Like Average Load, Peak Load, Scalability, Soak etc.
If you are still in req Gathering you can identify the Business process and give it to your stake holder that we have identified these process for testing.
Next you can get the Work Load, what is the expected User load they are expecting Peak and Non Peak, then prepare a work load metrix.
