The web has changed a lot in the last decade, but websites seem slower than ever. And many performance engineers are still testing like it’s 2011. The modern web presents new challenges and requires new skills to uncover defects lurking in the apps we are responsible for. As performance specialists, our skillset must be broader than just creating, running and reporting on scripted load tests.

Our job is getting harder. Scripting current-generation web apps is increasingly difficult, with tools lacking support for new technologies and complex client-side code turning script development into a reverse-engineering exercise. Client-side performance is a big problem with Single-Page Apps, and traditional front-end analysis techniques have changed along with the underlying best-practices. Some older optimization techniques will actually make response times worse.

This session will provide an overview of the difficulties with performance testing the modern web, contrast old-style testing with new-style testing, and will include a hands-on exercise in front-end analysis.