Accurate Load Testing Under A Deadline

You should have run load tests before, but now it’s time to ship and you’re under the gun. We’ve all been there.

Here’s how we recommend you get the most accurate load tests possible when you’re on a deadline: test against a reasonably realistic user behavior scenario using the LoadImpact Chrome extension.

In other words, you’ll pretend you’re a typical user, record that typical user’s behavior in your site or web app, and then play that “recording” back as a test script in your load tests. Your typical user behavior will guide what your tests’ simulated (virtual) users do.

The fastest way to make a fairly complex script is to just record it. (Detailed instructions are in this support article, and you can find the Chrome extension in the Chrome Web Store here.) Use the recorder to make your best guess at a typical user’s behavior - and try to hit the key features you want to make sure you test. Stop the recording when you’re done, and you’ll be redirected into the Load Impact app.

The next step is to validate the script, which basically runs just one simulated, virtual user through the script. Once the validation is successful, you’re ready to configure your load test(s).

NOTE: If you have the time, you can create a few different user scenarios in order to simulate concurrent traffic realistically, especially if you know your users may have different behaviors.

Once you’ve created your script (or scripts), run a few tests, even on a small scale, just to test for any major problems. From there, run as many tests as you can under your deadline, adjust, and repeat. (Check out our many other articles about effective load tests for more information.)