Testing is Rocket Science Not Brain Surgery

By definition when a person steps on a land mine and activates it, the mine’s main charge explodes and releases a blast wave consisting of hot gases (the by-product of the explosion). This blast wave will send a huge compressive force upwards, bringing the mine casing and bits of the soil covering the mine along with it.

Apparently this is information one needs to know before you release the findings of a performance test analysis. The mine is the “bug” or component responsible for the performance degradation, and man oh man does it have explosive potential. A performance bug can speak to an architectual mis-step which can have awesome consequences affecting everyone from the neighborhood developer all the way to the C-level sponsers. The realization that mines are sort of unconventional, that they lie in wait, ambushing the unsuspecting victim should be cause for concern. This has a sort of malevolence about it, and really doesn’t have a place even in war where combatants typically engage each other openly.

But when developers are going full throttle, and testing is disengaged waiting for code to be released, that open dialog doesn’t happen. Compound that with the pressures of meeting deadlines, and the increased potential to take shortcuts and we begin to set the stage.

So often even after the development has ended and testing has even been through multiple cycles the mines remain, people forget where they put them, and they become a long lasting problem. Well that’s exactly what a performance bug is nine times out of ten, a forgotten land mine lying in wait. But what you, the performance tester, should do is begin your mind sweeping in advance and post a warning. You don’t blindly walk out into the minefield; good way to lose a foot, you probe slowly and carefully place markers at suspected sites. You take proactive measures and gather intelligence early, letting the players know they need to watch their step. Then you can successfully go in and dispose of issues, and resolve the potential bugs in a controlled manner. Yes, you’ll still find something that you didn’t mark, and that’s to be expected. But what makes it easier for everyone is the big sign that says DANGER, watch your step. Not in an effort to be an alarmist; chicken little never convinced anyone of anything, but rather in an effort to be informative and insightful.