Certified Associate in Software Testing (CAST) Practice Test

What type of testing may require dedicated resources?

1. Functional testing

2. Regression testing

3. Performance or stress testing

4. User acceptance testing

The correct answer is: Performance or stress testing

Performance or stress testing typically requires dedicated resources due to the nature of the tests involved. These types of testing are designed to evaluate how a system behaves under varying loads and to identify its breaking points. Thorough performance testing often necessitates specialized tools and environments that can simulate numerous users or heavy transactions simultaneously. In addition, running these tests can be resource-intensive, demanding substantial processing power and network bandwidth to accurately assess the system's performance under stress. Dedicated resources may also include skilled personnel who understand the intricacies of performance metrics and can analyze the results effectively. Such tests are more complex than standard functional or regression tests, which often can be executed on standard testing setups. User acceptance testing, while important, primarily focuses on the end-user experience and typically does not require the same level of resource allocation as performance testing. Thus, the unique requirements for simulating high loads and monitoring system performance affirm that performance or stress testing is the type most likely to necessitate dedicated resources.