Part 7: Test Execution Process (Performance Testing Revision Cheat Sheet)

 

📌 Purpose

The execution phase is where the workload is applied to the system, and data is collected for performance evaluation. A structured approach ensures repeatability and accuracy.

---

🎯 Steps in Test Execution

1. Pre-Execution Checks

   • Confirm environment readiness (servers, DB, services up).

   • Ensure monitoring tools & log collection are active.

   • Validate scripts with a sanity test (low load, short run).

2. Baseline Test

   • Execute with minimal load.

   • Measure base response times, throughput, error rates.

   • Acts as a benchmark for later comparisons.

3. Dry Run (Shakeout Test)

   • Run at ~20–30% load.

   • Identify configuration gaps (firewall rules, DB connections, monitoring setup).

4. Load Test Execution

   • Apply workload as per model (ramp-up → steady-state → ramp-down).

   • Observe system behavior in real-time (APM, infrastructure, logs).

5. Stress, Spike & Endurance Tests

   • Stress Test → Increase load until system breaks.

   • Spike Test → Sudden increase in load to check resilience.

   • Endurance Test → Long-duration run to detect memory leaks, stability issues.

6. Real-Time Monitoring

   • Track metrics (CPU, memory, GC, DB queries, network).

   • Correlate system health with load applied.

7. Post-Test Validation

   • Ensure system is stable after ramp-down.

   • Validate data integrity (orders placed, transactions recorded).

   • Capture logs, metrics, and tool outputs.

---

🛠️ Deliverables

• Executed test run logs & reports.

• Raw metrics from monitoring tools.

• Observations about failures, anomalies, and SLA breaches.