How do you conduct web application testing and monitoring to ensure non-functional requirements are met?

1 Testing non-functional requirements

Testing non-functional requirements involves checking how the web application behaves under different conditions and scenarios, such as load, stress, security, accessibility, and compatibility. You can use various testing tools and frameworks to simulate these conditions and measure the outcomes, such as response time, error rate, resource consumption, and user satisfaction. For example, you can use JMeter, LoadRunner, or Gatling to perform load and stress testing, ZAP, Nmap, or Burp Suite to perform security testing, Lighthouse, or WAVE to perform accessibility testing, and BrowserStack, or LambdaTest to perform compatibility testing.

2 Monitoring non-functional requirements

Monitoring non-functional requirements involves collecting and analyzing data from the web application and its environment, such as server, network, database, and user feedback. You can use various monitoring tools and platforms to gather and visualize this data, such as Prometheus, Grafana, or Datadog to monitor performance and resource metrics, Sentry, or Logstash to monitor errors and logs, Pingdom, or UptimeRobot to monitor availability and uptime, and Google Analytics, or Hotjar to monitor user behavior and feedback. Monitoring helps you identify and troubleshoot issues, optimize and improve the web application, and ensure that it meets the expected service level agreements (SLAs).

4 Evaluating testing and monitoring results

Evaluating testing and monitoring results helps you assess how well the web application meets the non-functional requirements, and what are the areas of improvement and optimization. You can use various evaluation methods and techniques to analyze and interpret the data from testing and monitoring, such as benchmarks, baselines, thresholds, trends, and patterns. You can also use various evaluation criteria and metrics to measure and compare the results, such as key performance indicators (KPIs), service level indicators (SLIs), service level objectives (SLOs), and service level agreements (SLAs).

5 Reporting testing and monitoring outcomes

Reporting testing and monitoring outcomes helps you communicate and document the findings and recommendations from testing and monitoring to the stakeholders and the team. You can use various reporting tools and formats to present and share the data from testing and monitoring, such as dashboards, charts, graphs, tables, reports, and summaries. You can also use various reporting strategies and best practices to make the reports clear, concise, relevant, and actionable. For example, you can use SMART goals, RAG status, or PDCA cycle to structure and organize the reports.

6 Improving testing and monitoring practices

Improving testing and monitoring practices helps you enhance the quality and efficiency of your testing and monitoring processes, and ensure that they align with the changing needs and expectations of the web application and its users. You can use various improvement methods and techniques to review and refine your testing and monitoring practices, such as feedback loops, retrospectives, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement. You can also use various improvement tools and resources to learn and adopt new testing and monitoring technologies, methodologies, and standards.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?