Performance Testing

To determine whether the program meets its performance requirements.

Performance can be tested using glass box or black box techniques. Glass box testing allows a finer analysis because you can use profilers or hardware-based execution monitors to study the time the program spends in specific modules, along specific paths, or working with specific types of data.

One objective of performance testing is performance enhancement. The tests might determine which modules execute most often or use the most computer time. Those modules are re-examined and recoded to run more quickly.

Testing groups do black box performance tests. They use benchmark tests to compare the latest version's performance to previous versions. Poor performance can reflect bugs, especially when a part of the program that used to run quickly is now slow.

Performance benchmark tests against the competition are also useful for evaluating the salability of the product and determining the need for time-consuming performance enhancements.