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Forrester Realistic Load Testing

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by Forrester's Mike Gualtieri, James Staten, June 16, 2009 This workbook discusses the importance of realistic performance Web testing, what it is, and recommendations.

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Page 1: Forrester Realistic Load Testing
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Perform Realistic Web Testing To Ensure Blazing Fast Web Site PerformanceMike Gualtieri

Senior Analyst

Forrester Research

James Staten

Principal Analyst

Forrester Research

June 16, 2009

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Realistic Web performance testing is

critical to achieving flawless user experiences.

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4Entire contents © 2008  Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agenda

• Why your customers won’t wait

• What is realistic performance testing?

• Recommendations

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5Entire contents © 2008  Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agenda

• Why your customers won’t wait

• What is realistic performance testing?

• Recommendations

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• Raw page load speed Gomez Media Home Page BenchmarkApril 10 ’09 – May 10 ’09

0:00 - 24:00 EST

Performance means:

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Gomez Media Article Search Transaction

BenchmarkApril 10 ’09 – May 10 ’09

0:00 - 24:00 EST

• Customer workflow speed

Performance means:

1

2

3

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Blazing fastWeb sites = customers

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Traditional Web performance testing doesn’t cut it• Traditional testing is expensive.

• Cost of licenses, hardware, and training

• Time-consuming to implement

• Idiosyncrasies of the software are often difficult to master.

• Traditional testing is not realistic.

• Scope is limited to internal, clean-room testing.

• Not focused on end-user point of view

• Misses too many pieces in the Web application delivery chain such as content delivery network (CDN), third-party components, geography, etc.

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Most developers are building Web apps“What types of new custom applications are your firm’s developers building?”

(Multiple responses accepted)

Base: 977 platform software decision-makers at North American and European enterprises and SMBsSource: Enterprise And SMB Software Survey, North America And Europe, Q4 2008

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New trends make optimal user experiences even more important• The Millennial generation expects more.

– 18- to 27-year-olds

– The tech-savvy generation

• Web site redesigns

– Rich internet applications (RIA)

• More Web sites are composed of third-party components.

• Virtualization of infrastructure, including cloud

• Mobile apps availability is exploding.

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Agenda

• Why your customers won’t wait?

• What is realistic performance testing?

• Recommendations

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Realistic testing means taking a walk in your customers’ shoes.

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“Realistic testing” means testing from your customers’ point of view• Where do they access your site from?

– Bangkok, Cannes, Des Moines, Dubrovnik, Edmonton, LA, London, Miami, Osaka, Pusan

• What do they do?

– Key tasks, transactions, and business processes

• How do they do it?

– Browsers galore, mobile devices

• When do they do it (and how frequently)?

– Peak times, spikes

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The user’s distance from the content matters

Source: Tom Leighton, “Improving Performance on the Internet,” Queue, October 2008

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Boston users of forrester.com have the fastest response time

Source: Gomez (www.gomez.com)

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Browsers render differently

Source: Gomez (http://www.gomez.com)

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What features should a realistic Web performance testing platform have?

It should:

• Test from the end user’s point of view.

– Different locations

– Different browsers

– Different loads

– Different tasks

• Be easy for developers, testers, and businesspeople to use.

• Identify and resolve problems along the entire Web application delivery chain.

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Web sites are increasingly held hostage by third-party apps

Source: Gomez (www.gomez.com)

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Vendors offering performance measurement solutions

• Gomez

• Keynote Systems

• Cordiant Technologies

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Agenda

• What do customers want?

• What is realistic performance testing?

• Recommendations

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Recommendations• Design a test plan based on how real users interact with your Web application.

• Use testing tools that allow you to test from your user’s point of view:

– Where, what, how, and when

• Test the entire Web application.

• Democratize testing:

– Build a test team that includes anyone who has a stake in the outcome.

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Recommendations (cont.)• Test early to nip problems in the bud.

• Test often to maintain a consistently supreme user experience.

• Follow the “Blazing Fast Web Site Performance” best practices to keep your Web site humming.

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Don’t leave user experience to chance.

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Perform realistic Web testing to achieve blazing fast Web

site performance.

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Thank you

Mike Gualtieri

+1 617.613.6145

[email protected]

James Staten

+1 650.380.3733

[email protected]

www.forrester.com

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27Entire contents © 2008  Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

Selected Forrester research

• February 4, 2009, “Best Practices: Attaining And Maintaining Blazing Fast Web Site Performance”

• February 4, 2009, “Case Study: How Orbitz Takes You Places Faster”

• August 15, 2008, “Best Practices: Blazing Fast Web Site Infrastructure”

• August 15, 2008, “Case Study: How Msnbc.com Is First In News”