The 245TECH team has over 50 years of experience in software development, and with that experience comes countless hours of performance testing and site audits. It might seem tedious and somewhat redundant, but performance testing is one of the most important steps towards success that your software company can make. Skipping out on this step in the software development life cycle can jeopardize the entirety of your project. It’s an essential aspect of any project that ensures your application performs at its best and to the needs of its users. Let’s take a look at these top reasons why you should never skip this step of the development life cycle.
1. Identifies Performance Issues
One of the main reasons why performance testing is so important is that it helps identify any bottlenecks or issues in the performance of an application. By subjecting an application to simulated usage conditions and measuring its performance under these conditions, your software company can identify any areas where the application is struggling to keep up or where it may be prone to crashing or errors. Take steps such as site audits to examine key metrics and data surrounding your application. This is especially important for applications that are expected to handle a large volume of traffic or data, as it can help ensure that they are able to handle the load and provide a seamless user experience.
2. Optimizes Performance
As the name suggests, performance testing helps optimize the performance of an application. By identifying any bugs or constraints during the testing process, software companies can improve the overall performance of the application and make it more efficient. This allows the team to remain proactive to anticipated issues rather than reactive to avoidable problems. This can help reduce the burden on servers and other resources, which can in turn lead to lower costs for your project, team, and company. It’s much less costly to deal with issues on a smaller scale than if they were to slip through the cracks, so optimizing performance early on will help avoid these mistakes down the road.
3. Promotes a Positive User Experience
Performance testing is also important for the user experience (UX). If an application is slow or prone to errors, it can be frustrating for users and lead to a poor reputation for the software company. The modern software user has grown accustomed to a certain standard, and if your application doesn’t meet it, then it’s unlikely that the user will stick around for very long. Instead, you should take steps to understand your user and their interests, then adapt your app to meet them. Site audits are an especially useful tool for examining where your site currently lands and where it could stand to be improved. By thoroughly performance testing your application, you can ensure that it provides a smooth and reliable user experience, which can help improve customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and overall reputation.
4. Minimizes Security Vulnerabilities
This type of regular testing can also help you identify security vulnerabilities. A site audit often proves especially useful for this. These audits are an in-depth examination of your website core, files, server, and plugins to help identify any potential vulnerabilities or loopholes for your app. In the software development world, these audits are similar to random security checks for your app. By addressing these vulnerabilities during the testing process, your company can help protect its users’ data and prevent any potential cyber-attacks from occurring.
5. Offers Quality Control
Every industry maintains a level of quality control, and tech isn’t an exception. Performance testing also functions as a means of quality control for your company’s applications. By thoroughly testing the performance of an application, your software development team can guarantee that it meets the expectations of your users and functions as intended. You can reference its current data in respect to its anticipated or preferred data, then use the results to make improvements. This can help improve the overall quality of the application and ensure that it is fit for purpose and functions at an acceptable level.
Set Up Performance Testing Today
Although performance testing is only a single step in the software development lifecycle, it shouldn’t be discounted. It’s a necessary preventative measure to help your company avoid costly mistakes for itself and its users. Regularly scheduled testing can help keep your users happy and save your team hours of avoidable work on the backend. Moreover, testing your app’s performance is an easy way to maintain the integrity and security of your project. Besides– you can gain valuable insights that help inform your next steps during this project or any future project! Still unsure where to get started with performance testing? Reach out to our 245TECH team at (865) 465-4040 to get set up today.
