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Performance Test Reporting Fundamentals

Chapter 16 Performance Test Reporting Fundamentals

Objectives

Learn how to apply principles of effective reporting to performance test data.

Learn when to share technical results versus produce stakeholder reports.

Learn what questions various team members expect performance reports to answer.

Overview

Managers and stakeholders need more than simply the results from various tests -- they
need conclusions based on those results, and consolidated data that supports those
conclusions. Technical team members also need more than just results -- they need
analysis, comparisons, and details of how the results were obtained. Team members of all
types get value from performance results being shared more frequently. In this chapter,
you will learn how to satisfy the needs of all the consumers of performance test results
and data by employing a variety of reporting and results-sharing techniques, and by
learning exemplar scenarios where each technique tends be well received.

How to Use This Chapter

Use this chapter to understand the principles of effective performance test results
reporting, and as a reference for exemplars of effective data presentation. To get the most
from this chapter:
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Use the "Principles of Effective Reporting" section to understand the key concepts
and principles behind effective reporting.

Use the "Frequently Reported Performance Data" section to learn about various ways
that performance data can be presented and the types of results to which those
methods are most effectively applied.

Use the "Questions to Be Answered by Reporting" section to understand how reports
are designed for various audiences, and how to deliver the right information to the
right audience in a format that they find intuitive.

Principles of Effective Reporting

The key to effective reporting is to present information of interest to the intended
audience in a quick, simple, and intuitive manner. The following are some of underlying
principles of effective reporting:
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