Your mobile banking app passed UAT perfectly ÔÇö then crashed when 5,000 customers logged in simultaneously on payday. The development team panics, management demands answers, and regulators start questioning your IT infrastructure readiness. The problem isn't functionality ÔÇö it's performance that was never tested under realistic load.
This scenario happens more often than you think. According to Gartner, 70% of downtime incidents in the financial sector are caused by performance issues that could have been detected through performance testing.
This article covers load testing and all 7 types of performance testing based on the ISTQB CT-PT (Certified Tester - Performance Testing) standard ÔÇö the same framework used by financial regulators across Southeast Asia to evaluate IT system readiness.
Performance Testing Definition (ISTQB)
According to the ISTQB Glossary, performance testing is defined as:
"Testing to determine the performance of a software product."
Performance testing is not just one type of test ÔÇö it's an umbrella term covering several sub-types. ISTQB maps performance testing to the Performance Efficiency quality characteristic in ISO/IEC 25010, consisting of three sub-characteristics:
- Time Behaviour: How fast the system responds (response time, throughput)
- Resource Utilization: How efficiently resources are used (CPU, memory, disk, network)
- Capacity: Maximum users or transactions the system can handle
7 Types of Performance Testing (ISTQB CT-PT)
1. Load Testing
Per ISTQB Glossary:
"A type of performance testing conducted to evaluate the behavior of a component or system with increasing load, e.g., numbers of parallel users and/or numbers of transactions, to determine what load can be handled by the component or system."
Purpose: Verify the system meets performance requirements under expected load. Example: simulating 5,000 concurrent users on a banking app.
2. Stress Testing
Per ISTQB Glossary:
"A type of performance testing conducted to evaluate a system or component at or beyond the limits of its anticipated or specified workloads, or with reduced availability of resources such as access to memory or servers."
Purpose: Find the breaking point and ensure graceful recovery under overload conditions.
3. Spike Testing
Per ISTQB Glossary:
"Testing to determine the ability of a system to recover from sudden bursts of peak loads and return to a steady state."
Example: E-commerce flash sale causing 20x traffic spike in seconds.
4. Endurance Testing (Soak Testing)
Per ISTQB Glossary:
"Testing to determine the stability of a system under a significant load over a significant period of time within the system's operational context."
Purpose: Detect memory leaks, database connection exhaustion, and gradual performance degradation. Duration: 8-72 hours.
5. Scalability Testing
Measures how well the system scales when resources are added ÔÇö both vertical scaling (more CPU/RAM) and horizontal scaling (more servers).
6. Capacity Testing
Determines the maximum number of users, transactions, or data volume the system can handle while meeting performance targets.
7. Concurrency Testing
Evaluates system behavior when multiple users perform the same operations simultaneously. Focuses on detecting deadlocks, race conditions, and data corruption.
Key Performance Testing Metrics
| Category | Metric | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Time Behaviour | Response Time (P90) | < 3 seconds |
| Time Behaviour | Throughput (TPS) | Per business requirement |
| Resource | CPU Utilization | < 70-80% |
| Resource | Memory Utilization | < 80% |
| Reliability | Error Rate | < 1% |
Performance Testing Process (ISTQB CT-PT)
- Test Planning ÔÇö Identify performance risks, define objectives, select tools
- Test Analysis & Design ÔÇö Analyze production usage, create workload models
- Test Implementation ÔÇö Create scripts, add parameterization, validate with single-user run
- Test Execution ÔÇö Run baseline test, increase load gradually, monitor all tiers
- Test Analysis & Reporting ÔÇö Compare against acceptance criteria, identify bottlenecks
- Test Closure ÔÇö Archive artifacts, document lessons learned
Performance Testing for Regulated Industries in Southeast Asia
For banks, insurance companies, and fintech firms across ASEAN:
- MAS TRM Guidelines (Singapore) ÔÇö Technology Risk Management requires performance testing for critical systems
- BNM RMiT (Malaysia) ÔÇö Risk Management in Technology mandates performance assessment
- BSP Circular (Philippines) ÔÇö IT risk management framework for banks
- BOT Guidelines (Thailand) ÔÇö Technology risk assessment requirements
- OJK POJK 11/2022 (Indonesia) ÔÇö Mandates periodic IT performance testing for banks
All results must be documented for audit compliance across all jurisdictions.
Load Testing vs Page Speed
| Aspect | Load Testing | Page Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Server performance under load | Single-page rendering speed |
| Tools | JMeter, Gatling, k6 | Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights |
| Metrics | Throughput, response time, error rate | LCP, FID, CLS (Core Web Vitals) |
| Who | QA Engineer, Performance Tester | Frontend Developer, SEO Specialist |
FAQ
Is load testing the same as stress testing?
No. Load testing verifies performance at expected load, while stress testing pushes the system beyond its limits. Both are essential. Read our detailed comparison: Stress Testing vs Load Testing.
What tools should I start with?
Apache JMeter is the best choice for beginners ÔÇö it has a GUI and is the industry standard for banking in Southeast Asia. See our tutorial: Load Testing with JMeter: Step-by-Step.
How much does load testing cost?
Open source tools (JMeter, k6, Locust) are completely free. The main cost is team time and test environment. For a full comparison, see: 10 Best Performance Testing Tools 2026.
Master Performance Testing for Your Team
Is your QA team still guessing whether systems are production-ready? Don't wait for an incident. In our Performance & Load Testing with JMeter training, your team will:
- Practice all 7 types of performance testing with banking scenarios
- Create test plans that meet regulatory audit standards
- Analyze bottlenecks and prepare actionable recommendations
- Earn a recognized professional certificate
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation ÔÇö we'll help identify your team's competency gaps and build a training roadmap.
References
- ISTQB CT-PT Syllabus
- ISTQB Glossary
- ISO/IEC 25010:2011 ÔÇö Systems and Software Quality Requirements and Evaluation