A performance test is only as good as the strategy behind it. A clear strategy defines what you will test, how, in what environment, and — crucially — the criteria that decide when to start, pause, resume, and stop. Here are the elements that belong in it.
Core elements of the strategy
- Test plan — objectives, scope, workload model, and the scenarios to simulate.
- Environment — a production-like setup; results from an undersized environment can mislead.
- Schedule — when tests run, including quiet windows for shared environments.
- Scripting — building and parameterising the test scripts (including correlation of dynamic values).
- Test data — realistic, sufficient, and resettable data for each run.
- Load injectors — the machines that generate the virtual user load; they must be powerful enough not to become the bottleneck themselves.
- Reporting — how results are captured, analysed, and communicated.
Entry, suspension, resumption, and exit criteria
Well-defined criteria keep a performance test disciplined:
| Criterion | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Entry | Conditions that must be met before testing starts (stable build, ready environment, approved scripts and data). |
| Suspension | Conditions under which testing is paused (environment failure, blocking defect, invalid results). |
| Resumption | Conditions required to restart after a suspension (issue resolved, environment restored). |
| Exit | Conditions that define "done" (targets met or clearly not met, agreed scenarios completed, results analysed). |
Strategy to execution
Plan + environment
→
Script + data
→
Run via load injectors
→
Analyse + report
Correlation matters: real applications pass dynamic values (session ids, tokens) between requests. Scripts must capture and reuse these — a technique called correlation — or the test will not behave like a real user.
Conclusion
A strong performance test strategy covers the plan, environment, schedule, scripting, data, load injectors, and reporting — all governed by clear entry, suspension, resumption, and exit criteria. Get the strategy right and the numbers you produce will be trustworthy.