Performance Testing Tool Selection Criteria

Performance testing of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM software suite is critical to ensure that it can properly handle business processes, respond to user actions in the desired manner, and is sufficiently scalable. Although Microsoft’s developers are constantly working to optimize their product, the individual customizations and configurations made by companies can affect the software’s performance when combined with system updates. While it is essential to regularly test the performance of your ERP and CRM software, the success of your testing depends on the testing solution you choose. This article will provide you with a strategy to choose the most appropriate product for your particular case.

Supported Types of Testing

To choose the right product, you need to understand what type of performance testing you want to perform.

Performance testing is actually an umbrella term for a variety of testing approaches that are used for different testing needs. In addition, the same performance aspect of your software can be tested by using one of multiple testing strategies.

For instance, if you want to run tests to determine the scalability of your software, you can subject your system to an excessive load to see which component fails first, or you can slowly increase the load to determine how long the system will be able to respond properly.

Note that not all performance testing software has the same functionality. Furthermore, performance testing solutions for Microsoft Dynamics 365 are rather limited and most tools have a rather modest capacity to simulate real-world scenarios of a system overload. Executive Automats is one of the few examples of tools that offer the freedom to generate system load without additional payments.

Find performance testing on: https://www.executiveautomats.com/performance-testing-d365

Cost of the Tool

Although there are many other important criteria for choosing a tool, cost still has a big impact on your choice. If the tool is too expensive for your business, in all likelihood, you will resign from it, even if you find it particularly effective. Still, try to get as much quality as possible without exceeding your budget. Keep in mind that most performance testing tools require an initial investment, but it will not pay off in every case.

Usability

Even though you may have already assembled a team of experienced and highly-skilled testers, it is better to choose a performance testing tool with a user-friendly interface and minimal coding requirements.

No-code or low-code solutions can significantly reduce the time needed to create test cases, which in turn helps minimize testing costs and reduce human error.

This applies not only to testing itself but also to reporting and analysis features. Unfortunately, there are many tools with a high degree of test automation, but without automation for reporting and analysis. If this is true for your testing tool, you will need to manually manage to report or invest in configuring your tool to support automated reporting.

While reporting may seem less important than testing itself, it is the way your tool can present the results that will ultimately tell you about the issues affecting your software’s performance.

The simpler the testing tool is, the more accessible it is to users without a technical background. Including such users in the testing routine reduces your organization’s dependence on professional testers who may not always be available to handle your testing tasks.

Compatibility

No matter how effective a performance testing tool is, you will not be able to benefit from it if it is not compatible with your infrastructure. Pay attention to compatibility with the software itself, as well as with the web servers and database.

Note that there are both universal testing tools and those designed for testing a specific software product. The first group can be useful for companies that use multiple programs that require performance testing and want to invest in a single solution that meets all their testing needs.

The second group of tools may be more optimized for testing a particular software product.

What to Avoid While Choosing a Performance Testing Tool?

Do not choose your tool based on price alone. Cheaper tools will not be able to meet your automated performance testing needs, and your company will either end up suffering from inadequate testing or you will have to spend too much money on the services of professional manual testers.

Make sure that you do not choose the functionality of a testing tool in a rash without considering the requirements of your software and the usability of the tool.