Understanding load and performance testing

I’m grouping these two items here because they are related to each other, but they are not the same thing.

Load testing is a type of performance testing, in that we assess the behavior of an application under normal conditions and then with increased loads of data. The purpose of load testing is that we can identify how well an application or system will perform when a high volume of users (or transactions) interacts with the system. The main goal is that the system does not crash, slow down, or cause the users to not be able to complete their objectives. Load testing helps identify performance bottlenecks, slow response times, system crashes, and more that occur under high user loads. Load testing is important for capacity planning, scalability, and system stability.

Performance testing, on the other hand, goes well beyond load testing to determine how well a system performs. It includes looking at various pieces of user activity...