User group overview
- Group tests by characteristics
For example, you could have two user groups—a Buyers group and a Browsers group—that represent the types of users on system.
- Influence the order in which tests are run
When you run a schedule, the first test in each user group runs—in parallel, not sequentially. After the first test in a user group is completed, the second test runs, then the third, and so on.
The following schedule contains one user group.
If you run this schedule with 10 users, they are assigned to the only user group—Browsers and Buyers. When the schedule run starts, the 10 virtual users start running the first test in parallel. As soon as one test is finished, a virtual user moves to the second test. Thus, you have 10 virtual users, all starting at the same time and running each test sequentially. This does not give you much control over the run.
The following schedule contains the same tests in the same order, but they are divided between two user groups. Conceptually, this schedule is easier to understand, because the user's tasks are grouped logically—the Browsers browse, and the Buyers browse and then bid on a product. But, even more important, this schedule is a more accurate representation of the types of users on system, because each user group contains tests that represent the actions that they do, and the proportions of the user groups (70% and 30%) represent the proportions of the users on system.
If you run this schedule with 10 users, seven are assigned to the Browsers group, and three are assigned to the Buyers group. When the run starts, the seven Browsers and the three Buyers start in parallel. Thus, you have seven Browsers, each running two tests sequentially, and three Buyers, each running three tests sequentially.
- Add a user group to a schedule
- Emulating slower network traffic
- Running long duration tests
- Running a user group at a remote location
Related
Related reference