CT-PT practice examsIn development
ISTQB Specialist - Performance Testing
The only vendor-neutral performance testing credential: why systems perform badly and why that makes performance an architectural property, the seven test types and what each answers, reading response time percentiles alongside throughput, utilisation and error rate; then the operational profile that decides whether results mean anything, correlation and parameterisation of scripts, baselining and ramping to find the saturation point, locating a bottleneck across tiers, and the pitfalls including a load generator that is itself the constraint.
What you get
Papers are cut from the bank and weighted like the real exam, and no question appears in two of them. Every wrong answer comes back on later days until you have it right.
What the exam covers
| Concepts, test types and metrics | Not published |
| The process, execution, analysis and tools | Not published |
Two sample questions
1. Why is a dry run at low load valuable before scaling up?
- Script, data and monitoring are confirmed — correct
- The low-load run establishes the first baseline
- A small run measures the capacity
- The dry run replaces the full test
Why: A low-load dry run validates that the script, data and monitoring behave correctly, so problems are found cheaply before the expensive full-scale run.
2. Why does the tester relate performance targets to business impact?
- A slow system costs users and revenue — correct
- Business impact is simpler to measure
- Targets are set by the finance team
- Impact determines the environment size
Why: Performance has business consequences such as lost users or revenue, so grounding the targets in that impact ensures the effort is directed at performance that actually matters commercially.
The real CT-PT exam
| Length | 75 minutes, with extra time for non-native speakers |
|---|---|
| Questions | 40 |
| Pass mark | 65% |
| Price | Sold through national ISTQB boards and accredited providers |
| Recommended before you sit it | ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level is required. |
| Valid for | Does not expire |
Exam facts as published by ISTQB; always check the vendor’s page before you book.
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