{"id":1809,"date":"2015-08-03T14:44:18","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T14:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.abstracta.us\/?p=1809"},"modified":"2025-05-05T21:21:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T21:21:39","slug":"workload-load-scenario-performance-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/performance-testing\/workload-load-scenario-performance-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Workload or Load Scenario in Performance Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- Go to www.addthis.com\/dashboard to customize your tools --><script src=\"\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js#pubid=ra-58d80a50fc4f926d\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">In load tests we simulate the <strong>workload<\/strong> that an application will have in production, counting the concurrent users accessing the application, the tests cases that will be executed, and the frequency of executions by users, among other things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">The concept of <strong>workload or load scenario<\/strong> is defined as a mix of the system\u2019s expected load at a given time (during daily operations, at peak hours, on the system\u2019s day of most use, and so on).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">When we prepare a performance test, we design a workload or load scenario using simplifications in order to improve the cost\/benefit ratio. This is to say that, if we were to achieve an identical simulation to what the system will receive in production, we would end up with such an expensive test that it would not be worth it. The benefits may not be worth the costs and the results may even be obtained after it\u2019s too late!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">Our co-founder,<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fltoledo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federico Toledo<\/a>,\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">submitted his research to the<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400 color: #00b674;\"><a style=\"font-weight: 400;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.modelsward.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2014 Modelsward<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">, as part of his Ph.D. project, where one of the main contributions is the extension of the standard UML profile for testing, defined by OMG, and called<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/utp.omg.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UML-Testing Profile<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">. The proposal adds useful concepts to the definition of performance tests, which include the possibility of modeling workloads.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">To view an example of a load scenario defined directly in a load simulation tool (which is in fact what we want to model in a UML diagram), take a look at the image below. It shows the OpenSTA console, and an example test defined with three tests cases (TC1_AddProduct, TC2_AddClient, and TC3_AddInvoice). These are executed concurrently, one with 200 concurrent users, another one with 100, and the other with 15. The execution of all these tests cases as a whole, and concurrently, simulates the reality of the system supposed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\"><a style=\"font-weight: 400 color: #333333;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.abstracta.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/opensta.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1810 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.abstracta.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/opensta.png\" alt=\"opensta\" width=\"718\" height=\"224\" \/><\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">When Federico concluded his presentation from the academic perspective, someone asked him why he\u00a0did not consider stochastic processes, and modeling system\u2019s users as a href=&#8221;http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Poisson_process&#8221;&gt;Poisson process<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\"><strong>I find it interesting to find out why it is typical that simulation tools are not meant for this:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\"><strong>We want tests that can be repeated. <\/strong>There will never be two executions that are exactly the same. However, we must try to reproduce identical situations. For instance, if we execute this test, we will find an opportunity for improvement. Following that change, we will want to verify if it was actually an improvement, how much the performance has improved, and so on. We should try to execute the same test again. When we execute a test with a variable factor (based on probability) we will lose that possibility.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\"><strong>We want to improve the cost\/benefit ratio<\/strong> by simplifying reality, without losing any realism, and with costs that are not exceedingly high. How much more would it cost us to define the mathematical model and make sure it is valid?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\"><strong>We want clients to be capable of defining and understanding tests. <\/strong>It is hard for someone knowledgeable in the business and about the application to make estimates on the number of invoices to be issued in an hour or more, and it is even harder when we start considering mathematical concepts, in which case we would be adding complexity when it comes to defining and designing a test.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">So, after giving it a lot of thought, we are still convinced that this approach for workload testing is the best concerning cost and benefit analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">What is your view on this subject?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\">We would like to hear about your experiences as you apply this approach\u00a0to your own workload\u00a0testing practice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #333333;\"><strong>Leave your comments below!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Recommended for You<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/performance-testing\/when-to-carry-out-performance-tests\/\">How Soon is Too Soon to Carry Out Performance Tests?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/performance-testing\/types-performance-tests\/\">Types of Performance Tests<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In load tests we simulate the workload that an application will have in production, counting the concurrent users accessing the application, the tests cases that will be executed, and the frequency of executions by users, among other things. The concept of workload or load scenario&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[50],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v14.0.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Workload or Load Scenario in Performance Testing | Abstracta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In load tests, we simulate the workload or load scenario that an application will have in production, counting the concurrent users.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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