Performance Concepts interview questions — Medium
197 medium-level Performance Concepts questions from our Performance Testing bank, each with the correct answer and an explanation of why it is correct.
What this covers
Performance Concepts appears throughout Performance Testing interviews. At medium level, interviewers are typically checking that you have used it in practice: what you configured, what broke, and how you knew it worked. Work through these, then explain your answer out loud; the second part is what interviews actually test.
20 example questions
1. "Estimating resources needed for expected growth" — in Perf Concepts, this describes which of the following?
- A. Failover test.
- B. Ramp-up.
- C. Steady state.
- D. Capacity planning.correct
Why: capacity planning: Estimating resources needed for expected growth.
2. Which of the following statements about Perf Concepts is TRUE?
- A. Scalability testing measures how performance changes as resources or load grow.correct
- B. Stress testing only ever applies loads far below normal levels.
- C. Workload models should be invented without reference to real usage.
- D. Spike testing increases load slowly and smoothly over hours.
Why: It answers whether adding capacity yields proportional throughput.
3. "Increasing load until the system fails to find capacity" — in Perf Concepts, this describes which of the following?
- A. Breakpoint test.correct
- B. Think time.
- C. Capacity planning.
- D. Steady state.
Why: breakpoint test: Increasing load until the system fails to find capacity.
4. "Verifying behavior when a component is deliberately killed" — in Perf Concepts, this describes which of the following?
- A. Capacity planning.
- B. Think time.
- C. Failover test.correct
- D. Breakpoint test.
Why: failover test: Verifying behavior when a component is deliberately killed.
5. Which statement correctly describes Perf Concepts?
- A. Volume testing ignores the size of data completely.
- B. Workload modeling derives realistic scenarios from production traffic patterns.correct
- C. Performance testing environments should differ from production as much as possible.
- D. Soak testing lasts a few seconds by definition.
Why: Peak RPS, user mix, and think times come from real usage data.
6. Identify the accurate statement about Perf Concepts:
- A. Stress testing only ever applies loads far below normal levels.
- B. Workload models should be invented without reference to real usage.
- C. Volume testing ignores the size of data completely.
- D. A performance test environment should resemble production as closely as feasible.correct
Why: Results from unrepresentative environments mislead capacity planning.
7. "Phase of constant load used for measurement" — in Perf Concepts, this describes which of the following?
- A. Capacity planning.
- B. Failover test.
- C. Breakpoint test.
- D. Steady state.correct
Why: steady state: Phase of constant load used for measurement.
8. "Gradual increase of virtual users at test start" — in Perf Concepts, this describes which of the following?
- A. Ramp-up.correct
- B. Steady state.
- C. Think time.
- D. Capacity planning.
Why: ramp-up: Gradual increase of virtual users at test start.
9. In Perf Concepts, which of the following is described as: "Estimating resources needed for expected growth"?
- A. Steady state.
- B. Breakpoint test.
- C. Think time.
- D. Capacity planning.correct
Why: capacity planning: Estimating resources needed for expected growth.
10. Which Perf Concepts concept matches this description: "Estimating resources needed for expected growth"?
- A. Ramp-up.
- B. Steady state.
- C. Capacity planning.correct
- D. Breakpoint test.
Why: capacity planning: Estimating resources needed for expected growth.
11. Which Perf Concepts concept matches this description: "Increasing load until the system fails to find capacity"?
- A. Ramp-up.
- B. Think time.
- C. Breakpoint test.correct
- D. Capacity planning.
Why: breakpoint test: Increasing load until the system fails to find capacity.
12. In Perf Concepts, which of the following is described as: "Verifying behavior when a component is deliberately killed"?
- A. Breakpoint test.
- B. Steady state.
- C. Ramp-up.
- D. Failover test.correct
Why: failover test: Verifying behavior when a component is deliberately killed.
13. In the context of Perf Concepts, which of the following is a correct statement?
- A. Stress testing only ever applies loads far below normal levels.
- B. Performance testing environments should differ from production as much as possible.
- C. Volume testing ignores the size of data completely.
- D. Scalability testing measures how performance changes as resources or load grow.correct
Why: It answers whether adding capacity yields proportional throughput.
14. In Perf Concepts, which of the following is described as: "Increasing load until the system fails to find capacity"?
- A. Steady state.
- B. Think time.
- C. Capacity planning.
- D. Breakpoint test.correct
Why: breakpoint test: Increasing load until the system fails to find capacity.
15. Which Perf Concepts concept matches this description: "Verifying behavior when a component is deliberately killed"?
- A. Capacity planning.
- B. Failover test.correct
- C. Ramp-up.
- D. Think time.
Why: failover test: Verifying behavior when a component is deliberately killed.
16. In Perf Concepts, which of the following is described as: "Gradual increase of virtual users at test start"?
- A. Steady state.
- B. Breakpoint test.
- C. Failover test.
- D. Ramp-up.correct
Why: ramp-up: Gradual increase of virtual users at test start.
17. Regarding Perf Concepts, which statement is correct?
- A. Performance testing environments should differ from production as much as possible.
- B. Stress testing only ever applies loads far below normal levels.
- C. Workload models should be invented without reference to real usage.
- D. A performance test environment should resemble production as closely as feasible.correct
Why: Results from unrepresentative environments mislead capacity planning.
18. Which Perf Concepts concept matches this description: "Gradual increase of virtual users at test start"?
- A. Failover test.
- B. Breakpoint test.
- C. Capacity planning.
- D. Ramp-up.correct
Why: ramp-up: Gradual increase of virtual users at test start.
19. Which Perf Concepts concept matches this description: "Pause between user actions in a scenario"?
- A. Think time.correct
- B. Capacity planning.
- C. Failover test.
- D. Breakpoint test.
Why: think time: Pause between user actions in a scenario.
20. Which Perf Concepts concept matches this description: "Phase of constant load used for measurement"?
- A. Capacity planning.
- B. Steady state.correct
- C. Breakpoint test.
- D. Think time.
Why: steady state: Phase of constant load used for measurement.