At the risk of becoming a broken record; Performance testing is critical to ensure that software applications meet the expectations of users in terms of responsiveness, stability, and throughput. To achieve this goal, it is essential to translate user stories into actionable performance requirements. In this blog post, I will explain how to turn user stories into performance requirements that can be used as a foundation for your testing strategy.
Understand the User Story
A user story provides a high-level description of the features or functionality that users expect from an application. The first step in translating a user story into performance requirements is to understand the story's main components, typically structured as: “As a [user role], I want [goal] so that [reason].”
For example, consider a user story for an e-commerce website: “As a customer, I want to search for products so that I can easily find what I'm looking for.”
Identify Key Performance Indicators
Once you fully understand the user story, the next step is to identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the application's performance. Common KPIs include:
- Response time
- Throughput
- Error rate
- Resource utilisation
For our e-commerce example, relevant KPIs might include response time for search results and the number of search results displayed per second.
Set Performance Targets
Now that you have identified the KPIs, the next step is to set performance targets for each KPI. These targets should be based on user expectations, industry benchmarks, or historical data from similar applications.
For instance, in our e-commerce example, you might set a performance target of a maximum 2-second response time for search results and a minimum throughput of 50 search results per second.
Define Performance Scenarios
Finally, use the performance scenarios and targets to create a performance test plan. This plan should include at least the following elements:
- Test objectives
- Test environment setup
- Test data requirements
- Test schedule
- Test tools and scripts
For our e-commerce example, the test plan should include objectives such as validating search functionality under various load conditions and ensuring that performance targets are obviously met.
Final Thoughts
Translating user stories into actionable performance requirements is an important aspect of effective performance testing. By following these steps, you can ensure that your performance testing strategy is aligned with user expectations and that your application delivers a smooth and satisfying experience for your end users.