CTFL-PT_D ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level - Specialist Performance Testing Questions and Answers

The main activities of performance test execution include:

I. Monitoring all parts of the environment: Ensures that performance metrics are collected from various components to provide a comprehensive view of the system’s performance.

III. Collecting and keeping all results and information related to the test: Essential for analyzing the performance test outcomes and identifying areas for improvement.

IV. Generation of a load against the SUT according to a load profile: Simulates the expected user load to assess how the system performs under typical and peak conditions.

These activities align with ISTQB guidelines, which emphasize thorough monitoring, data collection, and load generation as critical components of effective performance testing.

A performance test script generally consists of three main sections:

Initialization: This section sets up the preconditions and prepares the system for the main test actions. It ensures that the environment and the test are ready to execute.

Main section: This is where the core test actions occur. These actions can be executed multiple times to simulate different loads and scenarios.

Clean-up: This section includes steps to properly close the test, such as releasing resources, resetting states, and logging results.

This structure ensures that performance tests are conducted systematically and efficiently, as emphasized by ISTQB performance testing standards.

1A: REST - Web service

2C: HTTP - Web

3B: JDBC - Database

4A: SOAP - Web service

5C: HTTPS - Web

This mapping accurately categorizes each protocol according to its common use in performance testing. REST and SOAP are typically used for web services, JDBC for database connectivity, and HTTP/HTTPS for web communications. Understanding these correspondences helps testers select the appropriate protocols for performance testing scenarios, as outlined in ISTQB guidelines.

1A: Alerts and warnings are typically part of the operating environment to monitor and respond to issues in real-time.

2B: Concurrency of usage is critical in the business environment where multiple users interact with the system simultaneously.

3A: Operational processes are key aspects of the operating environment, ensuring the smooth running of day-to-day activities.

4C: Resource utilization is a technical concern, focusing on how effectively system resources are used.

5C: Response time is a technical metric that directly affects user experience and system efficiency.

6B: Throughput of data, transactions, and other units of work performed is relevant to the business environment where the volume of operations impacts overall performance.

This categorization aligns with the ISTQB framework for performance evaluation across different environments, ensuring comprehensive coverage of performance metrics.

Correlation is a critical step in preparing performance test scripts, especially when they are generated from protocol-level recordings. It involves handling dynamic values (such as session IDs or tokens) that change with each user session or transaction. Without correlation, the script fails to handle these dynamic values correctly, leading to playback errors. According to ISTQB principles, ensuring scripts are properly correlated is essential for accurate and functional test execution.

In an Agile, iterative, and incremental development model:

III: The performance test may be conducted by a specific team. This is true as dedicated performance testing teams often handle complex performance testing tasks.

IV: A performance test cycle must be performed in each iteration by the development team (Agile). This ensures that performance testing is integrated into each iteration to catch performance issues early.

Statements I and II are not necessarily true:

I: While possible, it is not always the case that there will be a dedicated iteration for performance testing.

II: Performance testing in a cloud-based environment is beneficial but not mandatory.

References:

ISTQB Performance Testing Syllabus

ISTQB Agile Tester Extension Syllabus

System testing of overall end-to-end behaviors under various load conditions provides a comprehensive view of how the system performs in real-world scenarios. This type of testing captures interactions between components, identifies potential bottlenecks, and ensures that the system meets performance requirements under expected load conditions. ISTQB performance testing principles highlight the importance of end-to-end testing to validate that the system can handle the intended workloads effectively.

Disk fragmentation (I) can lead to slower data retrieval times as the disk has to work harder to read fragmented files.

File repository growth (III) increases the amount of data that must be managed and retrieved, which can slow down response times.

Memory leaks (IV) gradually consume available memory, leading to slower system performance as the available memory for processing tasks decreases.

Network latency (II) and inadequate database design (V) are also potential causes of performance degradation, but in this context, options I, III, and IV are the most directly related to the gradual degradation of response times over time. This understanding is supported by common performance testing practices outlined in ISTQB materials.

The correct associations between the tools and their objectives and characteristics are:

Load generator:

1B: It creates the load and also collects the metrics for later communication.

1E: It creates and runs multiple client instances that simulate user behavior.

Load management console:

2C: It provides the control to start and stop the creation and execution of the user simulation.

2D: It aggregates metrics from the various transactions that are defined within the load instances.

Monitoring tool:

3A: It monitors, records, and/or analyzes the behavior of the component or system under test.

3F: It can effectively support a root cause analysis of performance in a system under test.

References:

ISTQB Performance Testing Syllabus

ISTQB Glossary