What Is Bottleneck In Performance Testing?

High-performing software that works well under all load conditions is the need of an hour for many businesses. Therefore, today businesses adopt various types of testing services to test the quality or reliability of their software. One such testing type is performance testing. Though there are certain challenges associated with this testing technique as mentioned in this article but by adopting some of the best practices these challenges can be overcome. Let us now take a look at some of the bottlenecks that occur during this test.

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What is performance testing?

It is a non-functional software testing method in which an application is tested to check its current system performance. This test helps businesses to determine how the system responds under varying conditions. This test checks the responsiveness, speed, and stability of the software and ensures that software is free from all performance bottlenecks. This test typically ensures that the application performs as expected irrespective of the conditions like network fluctuations, bandwidth availability, or traffic load.

Why is performance testing required?

Below mentioned are some of the reasons that will help you to understand why this test is required:

·         To measure the speed, scalability, reliability, and stability of the software under varying loads this test is required

·         To ensure that the application delivers consistent results, irrespective of the number of users accessing it this test is required

·         To ensure that the apps load spontaneously and perform seamlessly under varying load conditions

·         To check whether the server responds to the user with requested data within the stipulated time or not

·         To enhance the customer experience (CX) as teams ensure that high-quality and high-performing software is delivered to end-user

What is bottleneck in performance testing?

Bottleneck refers to the situation when the network is overloaded and also when one component of the computing device is unable to keep pace with the rest of the system. This results in slowing overall performance which acts as a bottleneck

·         Processor bottleneck: The system fails to respond on time when there is a processor bottleneck. This occurs due to the low power of the CPU due to which it cannot handle the load

·         Network bottleneck: This is the most common bottleneck and occurs due to low bandwidth due to which connection between two devices is hampered

·         Memory utilization bottleneck: It is occurred due to insufficient memory storage or RAM

Other possible performance testing bottlenecks are:

·         Selection of wrong testing tool – One of the common challenges of this testing method that enterprises face is the selection of the wrong testing tool. The tool selection depends on various factors; first, it should suit your testing needs and business requirements, communication protocol, application technology stack, the skill level of the performance tester, and the licensing cost of the tool. Selection of the wrong tool can result in loss of testing days and efforts

·         Time and budget constraints – This testing process essentially takes some time and budget to get effective results. Lack of proper planning can lead to increased project risk. This impacts the quality of the overall performance testing process.

·         Improper analysis of test outcomes – Testers need to analyze the test results accurately. But sometimes testers face challenges in analyzing the test results accurately due to which stakeholders face difficulty in making an informed decision.

·         Inaccurate test environment - The inaccurate test environment leads to incorrect decisions. The best approach is to replicate the production environment exactly.

How to overcome performance testing bottlenecks?

·         Increase the power of the CPU by adding more RAM or enhancing the software code

·         Add or upgrade the servers or upgrade network hardware, etc.

·         Install higher speed and capacity RAM

·         Select the right tool in consultation with a subject matter expert

·         Properly allocate the time and budget to improve testing

·         Generate detailed reports that are easy to analyze and understand

Conclusion: Today, the customers determine the quality of the app not based on likes or no. of downloads, rather by the performance it delivers. This is where performance testing is needed as it helps teams to ensure that the product performs as expected after it goes live. Leverage performance testing from a next-gen QA and software testing services provider to get high-quality software that works well under all load conditions and delivers a seamless experience to the users.

About the author: I am a technical content writer and I write articles on various IT-related topics. In this article, I have tried to share my views on the bottleneck in performance testing.