AGILE development is a software creation methodology that encourages incremental or iterative development, making an application better with each update, over time.

Performance testing is still a necessary component; however, the workflow is different than in traditional corporate environments like we've explored so far throughout this guide.

Here are a few tactics designed to help you embrace performance testing within an AGILE workflow:

• Team work: AGILE is about working in teams, but traditionally performance testers were independent contributors. Today, these testers now work in teams. Not only do they have to find performance bugs, but they also have to collaborate with developers and performance engineers in resolving the issues.
• Start early: Unlike in the past, performance testing should now start early in the development process, and not at the end of it.
• Iterations: As iterative development happens, performance testing must be undertaken at each stage of the process. It's easier to make adjustments to new bugs when they arise than at the end of an applications development cycle.
• Over-communicate: Agile requires exhaustive communication and sometimes over communication. This helps reduce lost time, and eliminates time waste.

Here are some steps as performed in Agile Performance testing:

• Goal: It is essential to understand the goal and vision of the project. A high level over view is should be the first step in the process.
• Business targets: Along with goals, businesses may have different targets within an application (eg response time less than 1 sec for every page). Understanding these targets is essential to a projects success.
• Setting performance SLAs: Performance test managers collaborate with business and technical counter parts to set the performance targets or SLAs.
• Identifying the tests and planning for specific scenarios: Based on the goals and targets, identify proper tests, and create proper business scenarios to emulate.
• Strategy document: Create a basic strategy document that has information about all key test elements and share them with appropriate stakeholders.
• Test environment: Environment creation and documentation both happen in parallel. Create a testing infrastructure (tool and other setup) to meet testing demands. Replicate production environments.
• Tasks: Identify tasks and delegate jobs where appropriate.
• Scripting & test execution: Create scripts and execute tests based on the scenarios, as identified in the test planning phase.
• Results are then analyzed and added to the test result reports. Document bugs and add them to bug tracking tools. Publish results, and contact stakeholders.
• After completing these changes, re-testing should occur, and notes should written about possible app updates.

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