performance testing interview questions

1. **What is performance testing, and why is it important?**

Performance testing evaluates the speed, responsiveness, and stability of a software application under
various conditions. It's crucial because it helps ensure that the application meets performance
expectations, such as response time and throughput, which directly impact user experience and
satisfaction.

2. **What are the different types of performance testing?**

The main types of performance testing are:

- Load testing: Evaluates how the system behaves under expected load conditions.

- Stress testing: Tests the system's robustness by pushing it beyond its limits.

- Endurance testing: Checks if the system can sustain the expected load for a prolonged duration.

- Spike testing: Assesses how the system handles sudden spikes in user traffic.

3. **Can you explain the difference between load testing and stress testing?**
Load testing evaluates the system's performance under expected load conditions, while stress testing
assesses how the system behaves when pushed beyond its normal operating limits.

4. **What are the key performance metrics that you typically monitor during performance
testing?**
Key metrics include response time (time taken for the system to respond to a user request),
throughput (number of transactions processed per unit of time), and error rate (percentage of failed
transactions).

5. **What is response time, throughput, and latency in the context of performance

testing?**
- Response time: The time it takes for the system to respond to a user request.

- Throughput: The number of transactions processed per unit of time.

- Latency: The delay between initiating a request and receiving a response.

6. **How do you identify performance bottlenecks in an application?**
Performance bottlenecks can be identified by analyzing performance metrics, conducting profiling, and
using monitoring tools to pinpoint areas of the system that are underperforming.

7. **What are the common challenges faced during performance testing, and how would you
address them?**
Common challenges include creating realistic test scenarios, ensuring accurate measurement of
performance metrics, and interpreting test results effectively. Addressing these challenges involves
careful planning, collaboration with stakeholders, and leveraging appropriate tools and techniques.

8. **Can you explain the process of performance testing in a software development life cycle
(SDLC)?**
Performance testing typically occurs during the testing phase of the SDLC, following functional testing.
It involves defining performance requirements, creating test scenarios, executing tests, analyzing
results, and making recommendations for optimization.

9. **What tools have you used for performance testing, and what are their advantages and
disadvantages?**
Examples of performance testing tools include JMeter, LoadRunner, and Gatling. Each tool has its
advantages and disadvantages, such as ease of use, scalability, and cost. It's essential to select a tool
based on the specific requirements of the project.

10. **How do you determine the number of virtual users for a performance test?**
The number of virtual users is determined based on factors such as expected user traffic, system
capacity, and performance goals. It often involves conducting load tests with varying numbers of virtual
users to identify the optimal configuration.

11. **What are some strategies for improving the performance of an application based on
the results of performance testing?**
Strategies for improving performance may include optimizing code, scaling hardware resources,
caching frequently accessed data, and implementing performance best practices.
12. **Can you explain the difference between baseline and benchmark testing?**
Baseline testing establishes a performance baseline for the system under normal operating
conditions, while benchmark testing compares the system's performance against industry standards or
competitors.

13. **How would you simulate real-world scenarios in performance testing?**

Simulating real-world scenarios involves creating test scenarios that mimic actual user behavior,
including varying user loads, transaction types, and network conditions.

14. **What role does performance testing play in continuous integration and continuous
deployment (CI/CD) pipelines?**
Performance testing in CI/CD pipelines helps ensure that changes to the codebase do not degrade
system performance and allows for early detection and resolution of performance issues.

15. **Can you describe a performance testing scenario you've worked on in the past and how
you approached it?**
In a past project, we conducted load testing on an e-commerce website to evaluate its performance
during peak shopping seasons. We created test scenarios to simulate different levels of user traffic and
monitored key performance metrics to identify bottlenecks and optimize the system for improved
scalability and responsiveness.

While the answers provided cover the basics of performance testing, it's always beneficial
to have a deeper understanding of the subject matter, especially for interviews. Here are
some additional areas you might want to consider:

1. **Advanced Performance Testing Concepts**: Familiarize yourself with concepts like

performance tuning, capacity planning, scalability testing, and reliability engineering.

2. **Testing Techniques and Methodologies**: Learn about various testing techniques such as
smoke testing, regression testing, and exploratory testing, as well as methodologies like Agile and
DevOps, and how performance testing fits into these frameworks.
3. **Performance Testing Tools**: Explore more performance testing tools beyond the basics, and
understand their features, strengths, and weaknesses. Additionally, learn about integrating performance
testing into popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins, Travis CI, or GitLab CI.

4. **Real-world Scenarios and Case Studies**: Study real-world performance testing scenarios,
case studies, and success stories to understand how performance testing is applied in different
industries and contexts.

5. **Performance Monitoring and Analysis**: Dive deeper into performance monitoring

techniques, log analysis, APM (Application Performance Monitoring) tools, and metrics visualization to
better understand how to identify and diagnose performance issues.

6. **Performance Engineering Best Practices**: Explore best practices for performance

engineering, including strategies for designing, developing, and testing high-performance software
applications.

7. **Performance Testing Challenges and Solutions**: Learn about common challenges faced
during performance testing, such as test data management, environment setup, and test automation,
and familiarize yourself with effective solutions.

8. **Non-functional Requirements**: Understand the importance of non-functional requirements

(NFRs) in performance testing, and how to define, prioritize, and validate them.

9. **Performance Testing in Cloud Environments**: Gain knowledge about performance testing in

cloud-based environments, including scalability, elasticity, and cost optimization considerations.

10. **Industry Standards and Guidelines**: Stay updated with industry standards and guidelines for
performance testing, such as those provided by organizations like the International Software Testing
Qualifications Board (ISTQB) or the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).
Performance Engineering Interview Questions

1) What is the need for doing a performance test?

In order to evaluate performances that are applications based we need performance

testing. These evaluations are performed under certain stress and load conditions. The
response time that is related to the activity of users is generally used for
measuring performance testing. The entire system is tested at a high condition of stress
and load.

2) Mention the various types of performance testing?

There are three types of performance testing which are listed below.

1. Load performance testing: This type of testing is utilized when the user wants

to analog to testing that is volume-related. And it is also used for determining how

to do application work with a huge amount of data.

2. Stress performance testing: Applications are examined on the basis of their

behavior during peak activity bursts.

3. Capacity performance testing: The entire capacity of the system is measured

and also it helps in detailing at what time the response time will become

unacceptable.

3) Mention the tools that are used for doing performance testing?

These are the best tools for performance testing.

• QA Load (Compuware): This type of tool is used for performing load tests of

database, web, and also a Char-based system.

 • Load Runner (HP): This type of tool is used for the web and various other kinds

of applications. Various kinds of platforms, database and application environment

is provided by this. In order to do an evaluation of the measurements of the

performance of every component and also to the acknowledgment bottlenecks,

it is used.

• Web load (Rad view): This tool is used for comparing test metrics and running

tests.

• Rational performance tester (IBM): In order to identify the causes and

presence of the performance system this tool is used.

• Silk performer (Borland): Predictions of the behavior of e-business can be done

with the help of this tool. These predictions are made before the deployment is

done. And also the predictions are made with the concerns of complexity and

size.

4) How to correlate and parameterization in load runner?

Correlation is done for the dynamic values or the values returned from the server for
any request. Parameterization differs from correlation, in which the former takes care of
static data which is usually entered by the user.

• Dynamic values: The value defined by the server for example sessions ids,

session states and date values, and so on

• Static values: The values entered by users like passwords, usernames, and card

details, etc
5) What are the sub-genres of the performance test?

The sub-genres are described below.

• Load testing: The performance testing that is done in order to examine

applications' performance that is based on a load that is specified and expected

is termed as Load testing. The increment of load can be done by increasing the

quantity of user who is performing a specified work within a specified time limit.

• Volume testing: This test is performed in order to find the quantity of data that

can be handled effectively and efficiently by a system.

• Stress testing: this test is performed in order to make an evaluation of the

performance of the system by increasing the number of users than the

requirements. This is done in order to check at which level the application might

crash.

• Spike testing: This test is used to sterling what will happen if suddenly there is a

huge increase or decrease in the number of users of the application system.

• Soak testing: When there is a great deal of load for a long time on the application

system then soak testing is performed to determine the behavior of the

application in terms of response time and stability.

6) Define performance tuning?

In order to make improvements in the performance of the system performance tuning is

used and there are two types.
 Performance Engineering Interview Questions
1. Hardware tuning: To replace, add or optimize components of hardware of the

application system this kind of tuning is utilized. And also to make improvements

in the performance of the system, changes are done with the help of hardware

tuning on the level of infrastructure.

2. Software tuning: This tuning is helpful when it comes to identifying the

bottlenecks of a software level. These identifications are done with the help of

profiling the database and code. With the help of this tuning, modifications are

made to the software in order to rectify the bottlenecks.

7) What do you mean by concurrent user hits in case of load test?

There may arise a situation when more than one user will hit on the same event of the
application during load testing and this situation is referred to as concurrent user hit.
There is the addition of these concurrency points. This is done so that the virtual multiple
users would be able to work in a single event of application.

8) Why do the users need to do performance testing?

Performance testing is a very good platform because of the following reasons.

• It is used to verify the application's response time for the user's numbers which is

intended.

• It also provides the capacity of load testing of the application to its maximum

level.

• It also provided the facility for managing the transaction quantity.

 • Under both the unexpected and expected load of the user, application stability is

provided.

• It also makes sure that response time is provided to the users properly during

production.

9) Mention the reasons why load testing in the automated form is performed?

There were certain disadvantages of Manual load testing which are described below.

• There was no accuracy regarding the measurements of the application's

performance.

• It was also very difficult to perform synchronization among users.

• Also, there is a need for the number of users in real-time in case of performance

testing.

• Also, manual testing will cause an increment in the cost of infrastructure.

• Due to these above-mentioned disadvantages of load testing in the form of

manual procedures, automated testing is performed.

10) In the case of performance testing, mention the entering and exiting criteria.

The starting of performance testing is done at the design level only. After the testing is
done, results are collected, and later they are analyzed in order to make improvements
regarding the performance. During the whole process of life cycle development,
performance tuning is done and the factors on which it is based are scalability and
reliability during the presence of the load, application release time and tolerance criteria
of performance and stress.

11) How is it possible to identify situations related to performance bottlenecks?

Through the process of monitoring applications that go against the stress and load
conditions, bottlenecks can be identified. Also, there is the requirement of load runner.
Load runner is required since various kinds of monitors are provided by it that of the
monitor of the web resource, firewall monitor, runtime monitor, database server, and
network delay.

12) List the activities which are performed during performance testing?

The activities are:

• Creation of user scenarios

• Distribution of users

• Scripting

• Application dry run

Implementation of the load test, the collection of results, and then analysis of results

13) What is JMeter?

It is another java tool that is used for performance load testing. It can analyze and
measure the performance of a variety of services with a focus on a web application. Its
architecture is based on plugins. The last version of Apache JMeter is 3.3. we can also
run JMeter with Jenkins.

14) Mention the steps required in JMeter to create a performance test plan. And
explain how one can execute Spike testing in JMeter?

In order to create a performance test plan in JMeter

• Add thread group

• Add JMeter elements

• Add Graph result

• Run the test and get the result

 In JMeter, Spike testing may have been done by using the Synchronizing timer. The
threads are jammed by synchronizing the timer until a certain number of threads have
been clogged and then released at once, creating a large instantaneous load.

15) What are the common mistakes that are done during performance testing?

The common mistakes that are generally committed during Performance Testing are:-

• Direct jump to multi-user tests

• Test results not validated

• unknown workload details

• Too small run duration

• Lacking long-duration sustainability test

• Confusion on definite of Concurrent users

• a significant difference between test and production environment

• Network bandwidth not stimulated

• Underestimating performance testing schedules

• Incorrect extrapolation of pilots

• Inappropriate base-lining of configurations.

16) List out some common performance bottlenecks?

Some common performance bottlenecks include:

• CPU Utilization

• Memory Utilization

• Networking Utilization
 • S limitation

• Disk Usage

17) What is Neo load?

Neo load is a tool by which the performance of the web or mobile application is
measured. It is a stress and load testing tool. It provides programmatic solutions to the
developers to help them optimize the performance before the application goes into
production. It is available in French and English. It's a type of load testing tool

18) What are the Correlate graph and overlay graph?

• Correlate Graph: The Y-axis if both the graphs are plotted against each it herb.

After this, the Y-axis of the graph that is active is considered to be the X-axis of the

graph that is merged. Henceforth, the graph that was merged the Y-axis of that

graph becomes the Y-axis merged.

• Overlay Graph: Plot two graphs that contain the same x-axis. Left Y-axis in the

merged graph shows the current value of the graph. The right Y-axis shows the

value of the Y-axis of the graph that was merged.

19) What do you mean by baseline testing?

Baseline testing is performed on the application before coming to any conclusion. It is

also an indication of what has to do in the next stage of the application. A majority of
issues can be solved by this. It is a baseline that can form the base of any construction,
calculation, and measurement.

20) What are spike testing and soak testing?

• Spike testing: Spike testing is the change that happens to the application when

an abruptly large number of users increased or decreased.

 • Soak testing: Soak testing is used to know the behavior of the application when

we apply the load for a longer time or for a long period. What happens to the

stability(the nature of the application) and the response time of the application is

stand by this process.

21) What do you know about distributed testing?

The procedure that helps in performing application testing in case of the number of
users who are gaining access to the application simultaneously is defined as distributed
testing.

22) Define throughput in case of performance testing?

Throughput is defined as the quantity of data that is sent to the client by the server at a
stipulated interval of time. This is the response of the server to the request of the client.

Performance Testing Interview Questions and Answers

23) Name the phases of the performance test?

The phases of performance test:

• Design or planning

• Building

• Execution and

• Tuning and analyzing

24) Mention the phases of the life cycle of testing?

1. Planning of tests

2. Development of tests
3. Execution of tests

4. Analysis of results

5. Tracking defection and

6. Reporting

25) Differentiate between baseline testing and benchmark testing?

• Baseline testing: In this process, certain test sets are run in order to get

information regarding performance.

• Benchmark testing: With the help of this process, a comparison is made

between the performance of your system with a standard industry system.

26) What are the main advantages of testing that are Windows-based?

• Functionality

• Integration

27) What are the points that testing of web-based is concerned with?

• Page text

• A user interface that is graphical

• Response time

• Links that are broken in pages of the web

28) What is desktop testing?

This is a standalone form of testing as it does not depend on the applications that are
being executed on some other machines.

29) Mention any two tools of web testing?

Web testing tools:

• Selenium which is used for web application

• JMeter which is used for performance and load testing

30) Mention four bugs of Web testing?

Web testing bugs:

• Issues that are related to application navigation

• Issues related to functionality

• Usability

• Issues related to GUI and Cosmetic

31) What do you mean by profiling in the case of performance testing?

The process with the help of which in miniature level performance bottleneck are
identified is known as profiling.

32) What is performance testing?

The process of analyzing performances of system resources and their functionality

under certain workload conditions results in differences in their performance. This non-
functional technique of testing system performance is known as Performance Testing.

33) What are the performance test activities to be done?

• Requirement gathering

• Tool selection
 • Performance test plan

• Performance test development

• Performance test modeling

• Test Execution

• Analysis

• Report

34) Life cycle of testing?

Plan, Develop, Execute and Analyse are the phases of testing.

35) What are the types of techniques available to test performance?

Performance of systems can be measured by considering load, stress, soak, and spike
testings.

36) What is load testing in performance testing?

While working with systems that include transactions with a load on servers or databases
results vary in their performances. This is monitored to observe what kind of load is
responsible for downgrade or upgrade of system performance.

37) What is load tuning?

Load tuning is a method of improving performance by applying necessary modifications

to the software. This load tuning can be performed by developers based on the load
testing reports submitted by the performance testers. This process of fixing software
issues is known as software tuning.

38) What is volume testing?

Application is tested to know how much amount of data can be handled during the core
execution of the application with a good number of users accessing concurrently, which
defines Volume testing.

39) What is the throughput?

While lead testing, the amount of requests handled by the server or the amount of data
served by the application per defined time gives a throughput of the application.
Throughput is defined in different ways, like bits per second, reports per year, requests
handled per day, etc.

40) What is the protocol?

The method of executing predefined instructions in order to make two systems interact
or information exchange is defined as protocol. Protocols are recommended to improve
the load and performance handling of the application.

41) What is stress testing in performance testing?

In order to know the system performance when the load is maintained consistently at
the system’s upper limit of maximum capacity, the performance results are analyzed to
know how far the resources can sustain the upper limit with good performance as
expected.

42) What is Soak testing in performance testing?

Expecting a continual increase in the load, system resources are monitored with their
performances getting affected with load increase. In the due course of the time any data
leak is monitored and the memory management is observed to make sure, performance
does not affect any of the memory constraints and no data loss happens.

43) What is the Spike testing in performance testing?

Spike testing is used to test the performance of the system when the number of users
keeps on increasing with a large number with the same resources available to serve the
number of users. This will help to understand how many users can the system
successfully handle their requests without loss in its performance or any issues.

44) What is the Benchmark in performance testing?

It is a kind of load testing performed on part of the application of complete application

with the varied load to monitor performance changes. It is repeated until there exists a
very minor percentage of difference in the measurements noted from the earlier tests.

45) What are the baseline tests?

It is a method of verifying or validating the reports submitted by performance testers

that need to be addressed by developing a team. A baseline test is done before any
action to be taken to improve the performance that was observed low while testing. On
successful completion of baseline tests, more than eighty percent of the issues can be
recovered.

46) List some commercial testing tools?

Silk Performer, QALoad, WebLoad, LoadRunner, Rational Performance Tester are few
testing tools by various providers.

47) What are concurrent user hits in the load testing?

It is the number of users who requested/accessed the server and got successfully
processed their requests until there is a certain change observed in the performance. In
general, there exists performance degradation while the number of users trying to
access concurrently as the load increases.

48) How can you identify performance test use cases for any application?

Testing is done to measure the performance of every action performed. And these
actions have to be noted that will help you engineer the performance. There exist certain
measures to be considered while monitoring these performance tests, like users have to
be working on the core functionality of the application, trying to perform operations on
databases like CRUD, and the number of users trying to concurrently access the
application should be more. With all these criteria, even manual test cases can help you
in identifying the performance measurements.

49) Differentiate performance testing and performance engineering?

The process of identifying the issues that disturb the performance of any application is
performance testing whereas, improving the performance of the application by
observing the measurements got from the performing testing by necessary changes in
terms of architecture, resources, implementation, etc is performance engineering.

50) What is spike testing in performance testing?

Spike testing is a method of performance testing where a system is applied with a drastic
change in the user base and load on the application to test the performance. Spike
testing helps you find whether a system can handle the drastic changes that occur on
the application when there is a sudden increase or decrease in the user base of their
operations.

51) What are the key elements to consider while performance testing?

• Reasons for failure

• The difference in the measurements with previous test results.

• New actions defined that is responsible for performance change

• Make sure to document every test result for better analysis.

• Recommended points to include in the result document are:

o Aim behind test

o Number of users

o Scenario used

o Time is taken to complete the test

o Throughput

o Response time

o Graphs and their changes with earlier reports

o Possible errors

o Error detected

o Recommendations