Case Study

Background

RTTS’ client was enhancing its existing browser-based internet banking solution by enabling financial transactions via SMS (Short Message Service) text messages; its customers could query account summaries, transfer monies, pay credit cards, and pay bills. Via a Short Code, cellular infrastructure would route customer text messages to a SMS Aggregator, which would in turn transform the message into a REST style web service call that would invoke a specific financial transaction. Both aspects of the customer’s internet banking solution required load testing in order to ascertain scalability of the shared infrastructure.

Challenges

RTTS’ customer was faced with an aggressive time to market (TTM) coupled with a high degree of financial risk and lack of staff. RTTS’ client required a load testing strategy that would provide immediate value, as well as provide a solution that would allow the customer to assess the performance of the system as it matured and as the customer demand evolves.

Strategy

RTTS outlined a load testing strategy that would leverage RTTS’ performance testing services as a short-term solution in conjunction with mentoring that would allow RTTS’ customer to move forward with a long-term solution. Microsoft Excel would be used to create a workload model that would be transformed into a load testing framework. RTTS would leverage the customer’s copy of HP LoadRunner for its automated load testing capabilities.

Solution

RTTS crafted a solution that would address the customer’s immediate load testing goals, as well as its long-term goals of both the new SMS application and its existing internet banking application. As part of the strategic solution the customer would be able to generate a load test scenario that would allow them to emulate different levels of concurrent online users (both cellular and browser), as well as throttle the rate of text messages based upon testing needs and the configuration of the SMS Aggregator.

RTTS engineered a cross-section of automated test scripts using HP LoadRunner and its VuGen component. The automated test scripts emulated both the REST style web services emanating from the SMS aggregator via text messages and the browser-based interactions that emulated customer interactions against the existing e‑banking solution. All of the automated test scripts were fabricated to allow mutually exclusive customers to interact with their accounts while collecting key performance metrics regarding the responsiveness and reliability of the respective application services that were being called.

Additionally, RTTS created the necessary LoadRunner Scenario within the Controller component and mentored the client on how to adjust the LoadRunner Scenario settings in order to meet the load testing goals; e.g. Controller Run-Time Settings were mapped to specific testing requirements, such as the User Agent, Run Logic, and Pacing attributes.

Benefits

At the conclusion of the engagement RTTS customer was self-sufficiently moving forward, running load tests, and remediating the application in preparation for its initial launch. Additionally the customer possessed the means at which to adjust the LoadRunner Scenario in order to meet the needs for future growth, as well as the ability to adjust emulated behaviors of its customers. If needed, load testing requirements, such as concurrency, SMS message rates, and the frequency distribution of the various SMS message types could easily be toggled based upon projections and what-if scenarios.