Top 20 Performance Testing Interview Questions and Answers in 2022

Performance testing is the process of testing the maximum load on a web application and is a crucial aspect of delivering quality products to the client. This skill set has a huge demand in the software industry and is usually done with the help of an automation tool. Let us look into the most frequently asked performance testing interview questions for both fresher and experienced.

Performance Testing Interview Questions and Answers:

1. What is performance testing? Performance testing is the assessment of a software application under various scenarios to see how it works under maximum pressure. `This testing is crucial to certify the product is meeting the desired expectations before delivering to the end-user.
2. What is the purpose of the test? The main purpose is to test the application under different stress levels to see how it performs evaluate its capability and mark it as reliable software.
3. Explain different types of performance testing. Three categories fall under performance testing which is listed below.
   1. Load Performance Testing – This testing covers the behavior of the application under a heavy load.
   2. Stress Performance Testing – This testing evaluates the web application under stressful activities to assess how it works.Capacity
   3. Performance Testing – This is done to validate the response time of the application.
4. What are some common performance-related issues encountered by the users? 
   1. Slow response time.
   2. Longer loading of web pages.
   3. Improper scalability.
5. List a few of the performance downfalls and popular performance testing tools. 
   1. Increased CPU Utilization.
   2. Memory Usage.
   3. Expanded Network Usage.
   4. Disk Usage

   Some popular performance testing tools.

   1. HP Loader
   2. HTTP Load
   3. JMeter
   4. Rational Performance Tester
   5. Proxy Sniffer
6. Explain why JMeter is preferred over other performance tools in the market. JMeter supports options like the option to test both static and dynamic resources on a webpage. JMeter comes with an inbuilt feature to identify the maximum concurrent users that can be handled by the website. The tool has the ability to create a wide range of performance testing reports for better statistics.
7. Performance Testing VS Functional Testing: Functional testing validates the software against multiple inputs to check if it is working as expected. On the other hand, performance testing checks the behavior of the application under various load levels. Functional testing works best in both manual and automation modes whereas performance testing yields the best results with automated tools. A single user does functional testing while a group of users does performance testing. The production environment is not mandatory and involves less hardware resources while the latter seeks a production environment with many hardware facilities to generate the load.
8. Name the phases of the performance test. 
   1. Design or planning.
   2. Building Execution
   3. Tuning and analyzing
9. What are baseline tests? A procedure of evaluating the reports submitted by performance testers needs to be looked into by the development team. The main goal of this test is to improvise the testing process by helping to capture and arrest more errors in the future.
10. Explain volume testing. Volume testing evaluates the maximum number of users that can parallel use the application to find out the capability of the system.
11. List down the steps involved in the life cycle of testing.
    1. Planning tests
    2. Development of tests
    3. Execution of tests
    4. Analysis of outputs.
    5. Tracking the filed bugs
    6. Generating summary reports
12. List the common types of bugs recorded in web testing.
    1. Navigation-related
    2. Functionality bugs.
    3. Usability-related errors.
    4. GUI and Cosmetic bugs.
13. What is throughput in performance testing? Throughput is defined as the ability of data that can be handled by the client-server within the given period.
14. Describe concurrent user hits in case of the load test. The scenario of multiple users accessing the same web application during the process of the load test is called a concurrent user hit. This is done to make the application more flexible for allowing multiple users to access it at the same time without any performance lags.
15. Define entry and exit criteria terms in performance testing. Entry criteria are fixed at the beginning of performance testing at the design level. As soon as the testing is completed, results are correlated to make enhancements in the performance. This testing is based on criteria like scalability and reliability under heavy load, application response time, and tolerance levels of the performance.
16. What are the types covered in performance tuning? Hardware tuning and software tuning are the two categories covered under performance tuning.
17. List the familiar mistakes spotted in performance testing.  
    1. Improper validation of test results.
    2. Setting small run intervals.
    3. Lack of clarity on the no of concurrent users.
    4. Wrong way of the data population.
    5. Setting incorrect testing schedules.
    6. Workload details are not known correctly.
18. List the steps in the JMeter performance test plan.
    1. Addition of thread group.
    2. Incorporating JMeter elements.
    3. Evaluating graph results.
    4. Execution of tests and generating the outputs.
19. How is spike testing done in JMeter? Spike testing is done with the help of synchronizing timer. The threads are integrated by uniting the timer with threads booked and then releasing them altogether to generate a significant amount of load.
20. What is endurance testing? It is one type of performance testing to assess the behavior of a web application when an enormous amount of load is applied constantly to validate how much pressure the application can withstand.

Conclusion:

Hope the above article has provided you with a detailed guide on how to prepare for your upcoming interview to grab your dream job. Go through each answer carefully to crack the interview and become a successful performance tester.

The Performance Testing training is in Canada, and the USA and is also available in India in online mode. You can learn everything from top to bottom by sitting at your home only just by enrolling your details at the Get Software Services Website.