Definition
Testing conducted to evaluate the compliance of a system or component with specified performance requirements under given loads.
[Source: BCS+]
Comment
Performance testing is often left until development has been completed. However, if bugs are found at this point, they are always expensive and time-consuming to fix. For this reason, it is beneficial to perform performance testing earlier in development the lifecycle when a prototype has been developed.


On many programmes and large projects, testing will take up a significant portion of the budget. But it will receive less management attention than an activity of this size warrants.