Functional and non-functional testing are necessary for all software applications to ensure that they meet business requirements and performance standards. Functional testing incorporates a variety of functionalities, such as black box testing, unit testing, integration testing, system testing, regression testing, Smoke testing, and others. Nevertheless, non-functional testing, which is also referred to as performance testing, assesses the performance of applications under duress, scalability, reliability, stability, and speed.
In order to guarantee that your software is free of quality issues, regardless of whether it is functional or non-functional, it is imperative to establish quality standards that must be met. Benchmark testing is critically important in this procedure. This article will furnish you with a comprehensive understanding of benchmark testing.

What is Benchmark Testing?

Benchmark testing is a form of performance testing that entails the comparison of the performance, capabilities, or metrics of a software system or component with predetermined standards or benchmarks. It assists in the establishment of the quality standards for all software applications within your organization. Software, hardware, and network performance are typically the subjects of benchmark testing.

The objective of benchmark testing is to evaluate the current, past, and anticipated updates of your application in relation to a predetermined benchmark or criterion. Benchmarks are predetermined criteria or metrics that facilitate the evaluation of software performance and the determination of whether it satisfies the desired levels of functionality, speed, reliability, scalability, or other pertinent attributes. They serve as a standard of comparison.

How Benchmark Testing Works:

Tests used as a benchmark must be able to be repeated and measured. As you work on the software, you should set benchmarks that let you evaluate its speed consistently with each version. The app’s features should be able to be measured, whether they’re in terms of numbers or time. To make sure they are accurate, every test done during benchmark testing should be possible to be repeated and measured.

For example, a repeatable benchmark is needed if response times change a lot from one load test to the next. This means that system performance standards need to be set. Response times should be stable and consistent even when there are a lot of requests.

Quantifiable benchmark example: Let’s say you’re testing a web app. The time a user spends on a page, which is affected by how well the user interface (UI) is built, can be measured, but your user experience may not be easily summed up in numbers.

Why is Benchmark Testing Important?

Benchmark testing is important to make sure that your software meets certain standards before it is released to users. It checks the speed of software, finds and fixes problems, and makes sure that the code is the same from one version to the next. Some important perks are:

Performance Analysis: This tool lets you compare how well software works to that of competitors.

Experience for Users and Availability: Sets and maintains high standards for experience for users and availability.

Regulatory Compliance: Makes sure that rules and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are followed.

Evaluation of sellers: Helps evaluate outside sellers.

User Experience Insight: Finds out how availability and reaction time affect the user experience.

Consistency and Repeatability: Keeping the settings the same for each test run makes sure that the results can be compared accurately.

Better Performance and Handling of Load: Performance testing makes the program work better and handle more load.

Early Discovery of Issues: Finds possible problems early in the development process, so they can be fixed quickly and without big issues after the release.

Types of Benchmark Tests:

System Benchmark – System benchmark evaluations are intended to assess the overall performance of a computer system, which encompasses its hardware, network, and software aspects.

Application Benchmark – Software applications’ capabilities and performance are assessed under a variety of conditions during application benchmark evaluations. The efficiency, responsiveness, and overall functionality of an application are the primary objectives of these assessments. The web application and databases are typically included.

Hardware Benchmark – Hardware benchmark evaluations evaluate and quantify the functionality of a variety of hardware components within a computer system. These evaluations offer valuable insights into the capabilities and limitations of individual hardware elements, which are beneficial for performance optimization, strategic purchasing decisions, and system upgrades.

Network Benchmark – The performance, reliability, and efficiency of a computer network are evaluated through network benchmark evaluations. These evaluations assist in evaluating the network’s capabilities under a variety of conditions, offering a comprehensive understanding of its speed, bandwidth, latency, and overall responsiveness.

Storage Benchmark – Storage benchmark evaluations assess the efficiency, speed, and performance of storage devices, including storage area networks (SANs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and hard disk drives (HDDs).

Best Practices for Benchmark Testing:

Establish realistic and unambiguous benchmarks that accurately represent the typical performance of your application. A solid baseline for future comparisons is established by comprehending typical user behavior and anticipated load levels, which facilitates the identification of deviations from anticipated performance.

It is also imperative to conduct benchmark evaluations in a controlled environment that is representative of production conditions. To guarantee precise evaluations of the application’s performance under actual user traffic, factors such as network latency and hardware configurations should be closely modeled after those of the live environment.

It is crucial to consistently update your benchmark evaluations as your application develops. This guarantees that your tests are still pertinent and can effectively detect any new performance issues. Lastly, document and analyze your findings to monitor trends over time. This information facilitates the development of well-informed decisions and encourages teamwork to enhance performance on an ongoing basis.

Benchmark Testing Phases

Phase of Planning

The initial phase involves the identification and establishment of a benchmark. This is the phase during which your teams typically establish the benchmark criteria and the testing process. You will need to determine which system components are the most important to test in terms of user experience and performance.

Phase of Analysis

In this phase, it is recommended that you evaluate all of the data from the preceding phase in order to develop the test. Afterward, you employ this information to establish the objectives and goals, as well as the error identification process.

Phase of Integration

Functional and non-functional requirements are aligned with the approval of business processes and internal stakeholders during this phase. Bridges the planning and analysis phase with the final stage, serving as the intermediary phase.

Phase of Action

This is the final phase of benchmark testing, during which all data, established standards, and tests are meticulously considered and executed correctly. This phase includes the development of test scenarios, the execution of performance tests, the measurement of performance, and the calculation of results.

How to Conduct a Benchmark Test

A benchmark test is a methodical procedure that evaluates the efficacy of a system, software, or hardware component.

1. Develop Benchmark Objectives

Clearly define the benchmark test’s objectives and aims. Determine the specific performance metrics that you wish to assess, including reliability, scalability, or speed.

2. Choose a Benchmarking Tool

It is essential to select a benchmarking instrument that is suitable for the type of test you intend to conduct in order to guarantee the most accurate results and testing. LoadView is an exceptional instrument that will assist you in benchmarking your applications.

3. Determine the Baseline

Run the benchmark test on the current system to establish a baseline before making any changes or optimizations. This serves as a benchmark for comparison.

4. Development of Tests

Formulate comprehensive test plans and protocols that are customized to meet your objectives. Ensure that the script captures all the details you wish to test if your users must undergo a specific user workflow. Tools such as LoadView offer a recorder that enables you to effortlessly record the step-by-step progression of your user actions and subsequently generate the script. Additionally, it is recommended that you configure your test to replicate the real-world consumers during this phase.

5. Execution of the Test

Conduct benchmark tests on each version of the system or application that is being assessed. For example, analyze and compare the rendering rates of different web browsers by conducting benchmark assessments. Document the test results in detail, including any unexpected changes, resource utilization, and response times. This may entail the simulation of real-world scenarios or the application of duress to the system in order to determine its limits.

6. Evaluation of the Test

Analyze the system or component’s performance by examining the collected data. Locate any discrepancies, impediments, or opportunities for enhancement. Additionally, it is recommended that you record the benchmark test procedures, results, and any optimizations that were implemented. This documentation is advantageous for future reference and comparison.

7. Conduct Optimization and Retesting

Benchmark evaluations must be quantifiable and repeatable, as previously stated. In order to guarantee consistency in testing, your benchmark tests are intended to be executed repeatedly. As you continue to incorporate benchmark testing earlier into your development phases, you will have a greater amount of time to make any necessary adjustments and optimizations to your system. Additionally, retesting is advantageous for verifying the effects of modifications and optimizations.

Benchmark Testing Instrument

LoadView is a superior cloud-based performance testing solution that allows users to effortlessly create a variety of test scenarios using the user-friendly EveryStep Web Recorder scripting tool. The LoadView platform provides users with the ability to create highly realistic performance testing environments by replicating prevalent desktop and mobile devices, authentic browser-based testing, and a broad array of geographic locations.

The process of configuring your performance tests for benchmark testing on LoadView is both simple and rapid. You can employ its load curve features to precisely adjust the burden on your website or application to meet your specific needs. Load curves are notably advantageous for the improvement of benchmark metrics. LoadView will execute your tests and generate a comprehensive report that includes all the metrics required for comparison purposes once they have been configured. LoadView’s performance reports provide results that are both comprehensible and insightful immediately. You have the option to save these reports for future reference and establish a baseline for repetitive comparisons.