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Project Portal
| ### Next Steps Select and Run a Test Case |
| ### Patterns & Practices Testing .NET Application Performance |
| Activity: Write Load Tests
Tester
|  |  |  | Test a Quality of Service Requirement |  |
|  | Participating Roles Responsible: Tester
### Overview A load test is a type of performance test. Load tests help make sure the application meets its quality of service requirements under load conditions. Load tests measure application performance for typical user scenarios. Load tests can be used to predict application performance as maximum load conditions are reached. When executing load tests, it is common to focus on the high traffic areas, the 20% of the application that is used 80% of the time. # Entry Criteria Dependencies: A test task is assigned to perform a load test. # Sub-Activities
1 | Understand the Objective of the Test | The objective of the load test must be understood and the outcome of the test expressed in concrete terms such as an acceptable range of values.
2 | Design the Automated Test | Map out the test environment, test conditions including prerequisites, the number of virtual users, scenario being timed, and resources to be monitored. Understand the distribution of activities and simultaneous scenarios. Create load test scenarios. Within a load test scenario, create the test mix, load profile, and simulated environment. The test mix is comprised of the tasks that are performed, the time between tasks, and the frequency of the tasks. Insert the think time or the delay between responses. In the load profile, determine how many users are tested in a constant or stepped load. Determine the simulated environment such as the network emulation speed and types of browsers used. Add any unit tests to simulate additional load. This is the unit test under load.
3 | Write the Test | Record the steps that users perform. Include validations to check that results returned are accurate under stress. Use data binding to make the tests dynamic using a .NET data source such as SQL Server, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft Access. Place the test in the test folder of the load quality of service requirement. Create a test folder if it does not exist, naming it the same name as the quality of service requirement. Check in the test.
# Exit Criteria
| The load tests verify that the quality of service requirements pertaining to performance under load are met.
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