With the growth of mobile applications, internet-connected devices, and cloud-hosted software solutions, more and more people are connecting and using services than ever before. Applications typically go through many rounds of functional tests to validate that they are functioning to the specifications, but often performance testing is inadequate and overlooked. The application may be functionally accurate, but when multiple users are interacting with the application, it may slow down and possibly crash. This can lead to user dissatisfaction and loss of revenue.

Performance testing is technique in which an application is tested using simulated workloads to determine its stability, responsiveness, and scalability. Performance testing allows stakeholders to understand how the application performs under expected production workloads. The goal is to find and address performance bottlenecks so that the application meets the non-functional requirements prior to going to production.