There is nothing I can stress more (and I'm sure I've done it before but I'll do it again) than to start performance testing with the first build of any application. If one thing that 20-30 years of computer science has taught us, particularly in the past decade of the .com boom, is that performance testing can not be just the last few weeks of an application lifecycle.
Performance testing is where the application's warts and ugliness are exposed. It takes time to troubleshoot and solve each problem as they are encountered. A lot of the problems will entail code changes that then have to be re-tested functionally. I've been on some performance engagements that have lasted months due to the sheer number of application code defects that had to be corrected.
Managers have to understand that software will always have bugs and definitely will have performance issues. This is a fact of life. No single person has the brain power to take Java code (or any other language of choice) compile it and load test it in their head. So do the right thing. Take each application build (or weekly release candidate if you do daily builds) and start performance testing from the start. This way as each week progresses you'll be able to determine if the application is meeting expected performance, non-functional requirements objectives. You'll also be able to see if the application is improving or degrading each week.
Finally, with continuous performance testing there won't be any surprises in the last few weeks leading up to the "go live" date in production.
Performance testing is where the application's warts and ugliness are exposed. It takes time to troubleshoot and solve each problem as they are encountered. A lot of the problems will entail code changes that then have to be re-tested functionally. I've been on some performance engagements that have lasted months due to the sheer number of application code defects that had to be corrected.
Managers have to understand that software will always have bugs and definitely will have performance issues. This is a fact of life. No single person has the brain power to take Java code (or any other language of choice) compile it and load test it in their head. So do the right thing. Take each application build (or weekly release candidate if you do daily builds) and start performance testing from the start. This way as each week progresses you'll be able to determine if the application is meeting expected performance, non-functional requirements objectives. You'll also be able to see if the application is improving or degrading each week.
Finally, with continuous performance testing there won't be any surprises in the last few weeks leading up to the "go live" date in production.
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