ProtoTest Blog

I've used a variety of tools for system monitoring during load and performance testing, but one that's impressed me lately is RPM by NewRelic, which profiles Java and Ruby web applications. It's extremely lightweight and generates a lot of useful load and performance data. I used it on a website that used Tomcat as the application server and MySQL on the backend, and RPM was able to point out some database bottlenecks pretty quickly. It's especially good at aggregating data from multiple application servers, which can be a colossal pain to monitor individually.

I love Firefox add-ons. Love em, perhaps to a fault*. Here are a few of my favorites that I've used on load and performance testing projects.

* Ironically (for a discussion about using add-ons to enhance performance testing), add-ons can degrade Firefox's own performance. Having many add-ons active can turn Firefox into a remorseless memory-sucking monster. I've tried using a number of workarounds for keeping Firefox memory usage under control, but the best solution is to disable or uninstall as many add-ons as possible.

LoadLabs could best described as a labor of love. But our HR department said we could not describe it like that. So we will say it is the culmination of a lot of hard work. LoadLabs is a wholly owned subsidiary of ProtoTest, llc. ProtoTest has been around since 1998 and has had laser like focus on the QA and software testing industry. We have been providing QA consulting services and staff augmentation for 12 years now. In all that time we have always done a lot of load and performance testing.

We talk a lot about the skill set that all testers must have, such as being detail-oriented, having good written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work in fast-paced environments. But, we know that most companies only take a cursory glance at your skills and then want to see what your personality is like. So, what personality traits make a great tester?

Enthusiastic – If you are not enthusiastic about testing most QA managers will not be interested in you. Enjoying sitting down and breaking software is almost as important as “detail-oriented”.

We here at ProtoTest enjoy our work greatly. We strive to provide great services for all of our customers. One reason we can do that is that we are tool agnostic. In other words, we don't partner with one tool vendor and do all our work with that vendor. Sure we have partnerships but none of them are exclusive. If we were tied to a certain vendor we might not have had the opportunity to work with Web Performance Inc. We have really enjoyed working with their tool - Load Tester.

Lately there seems to be a lot of press coverage about the evils of test certification from uTest’s series of “Testing the Limits” interviews.  uTest seems to be interviewing all of the “cert-slammers” in a row.  While I understand that they are just printing what their interviewees have said, the email notifications going out to subscribers sure seem to stress the cert-slammer rhetoric; that has moved me to write this response to all those cert-slammers out there in the test world.

Recently I was speaking with the VP of Engineering of a software company in Denver, CO. Since his company deals with many cellular phone companies, I asked him his thoughts on the recent report that listed cell phone companies near the bottom of most customer satisfaction surveys. He said he wasn’t shocked. I asked if that would ever change. He said he didn’t think it would. He said it would not change as long as customers tolerated poor cell service and dropped calls. But don’t all cell phone companies drop calls and have poor cell service? In the opinion of most the answer is yes.

ProtoTest has partnered with KnowledgeUnited to offer the first real-time virtual instructor-led (RVI) ASTQB accredited course.  Take a Certified Tester Foundation Level prep course from the comfort of your own home office while still having access to a certified instructor to ask questions, get help to complete test technique exercises and interact with other course attendees from around the United States. 

I have been to several companies where the only test placed on a development deliverable was the unit test. Granted, these are all in-house, custom development departments whose products never see a shelf beyond the walls of their own corporation. However, several of these companies have asked me, “Could you please teach these developers how to write a better test case? We are tired of them missing defects.” The answer is hopefully obvious. Teaching the developer how to test their own work is the wrong approach. Try teaching a writer how to edit their own novel without an editor.

Back in March we blogged about low cost load and performance testing options. Back in November 2008 we blogged about load testing in the cloud. It is amazing how quickly things can progress when you have very smart people charging the way. LoadStorm has in less than 1 year grown to over 2000 customers. Other cloud based load testing tools are also experiencing a rapid increase in customer base.