Synthetic Testing: WTH Is It?

You’ve probably heard the term "Synthetic Testing" countless times. Especially if you’ve dealt with SaaS companies selling monitoring platforms.

But here’s the thing - despite all the buzz, every vendor’s explanation of Synthetic Testing feels intentionally vague, like they’re trying to profit from your confusion (which, let’s be honest, is probably true).

Take Datadog for instance. Here’s what they say:

Synthetic testing, also known as synthetic monitoring or proactive monitoring, is a way to identify performance issues with key user journeys by simulating real user traffic. Companies can leverage synthetic testing to proactively monitor the availability of their services, the response time of their applications, and the functionality of customer transactions.

Okay, cool introduction, Datadog. But, um… what is Synthetic Testing, by the way?

Say goodbye to the confusing explanations by marketing guys (who always pretend as if they really understand what they are selling). This article is your straight-to-the-point guide to Synthetic Testing.

The Core of Synthetic Testing: Automation

At its heart, Synthetic Testing is all about automation.

Picture this: a browser endlessly visiting specific web pages, performing certain actions, and ensuring that everything works as it should. That’s the essence of Synthetic Testing, no difference from browser automation testing.

To put it simply, Synthetic Testing is browser automation testing with some additional features.

Tools like Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium are usually used for automation testing. We’ve compared these tools in another article.

So, if you’ve already dabbled in automation testing, you’re halfway there. But Synthetic Testing doesn’t stop at mere testing, because of its “synthetic”.

The "Synthetic" Part of Synthetic Testing

Now, what’s all this “synthetic” stuff? What exactly is being synthesized?

• Access Contexts: Synthetic Testing typically runs tests multiple times a day from machines in different regions around the world. Ever wondered how your app performs in Tokyo versus New York? Synthetic Testing’s got you covered.

• Network Data: It’s not just about checking whether a task completes - Synthetic Testing also records key network performance metrics. Think latency, request errors, and more. If there’s a hiccup, you’ll know.

• Frontend Performance: Page load speeds, resource loading times, rendering times - Synthetic Testing measures these. On a slow website, customers will have enough time to realize they don't need the product and close the page.

Synthetic Testing goes beyond just “does this work?” It’s more like “does this work well, everywhere, under all conditions?”

The Advantages of Synthetic Testing: Comprehensive Problem Discovery

What sets Synthetic Testing apart is its ability to detect issues comprehensively. By combining browser automation testing with synthesized monitoring data, it provides a full-spectrum view of potential problems. Let’s break that down:

• Task Completion: Synthetic Testing ensures that a transaction or task - like logging in, making a purchase, or submitting a form - can be successfully completed.

• Performance Insights: It doesn’t just check if something works; it checks how well it works. A page that loads in 3 seconds in one region but 30 seconds in another? That’s the kind of insight Synthetic Testing delivers.

• Early Problem Detection: Since it’s synthetic, you’re proactively testing scenarios before real users encounter them.

• Scalability: Synthetic Testing can run tests 24/7 across global locations, at a scale no human QA team could match.

In Conclusion

Synthetic Testing is the extended version of browser automation testing, with the foresight of synthesized monitoring data, giving you the confidence that your application performs reliably at everywhere, all the time.

So next time someone throws around the term “Synthetic Testing,” you’ll know exactly what it is… and how to avoid being bamboozled by vague explanations! ?

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