Load and performance testing
An insight into the daily work of Alexander Kuzmenkov as a load and performance tester
Alexander Kuzmenkov is a load and performance tester and has been employed by Polygran GmbH for several years. Alex describes his work as a tester as a science experiment. He conducts research on IT systems, testing the performance of systems under different workloads.
He was already allowed to develop his passion for scientific experiments and results analysis during his studies of physics at the Belarusian State University in Minsk. He was particularly interested in IT systems and how they are structured and function. Therefore, at the beginning of his career as a systems engineer, he decided to work on networks and servers and to deepen his programming skills as a quality assurance analyst. The combination of experience and know-how made him a perfect candidate for load and performance testing.
Testing the limits
In his work, for example, he subjects websites, software and services to continuously increasing stress until at some point they can no longer withstand the strain. In this way, he finds out where the weaknesses and limitations are in a system and how a system behaves when the load increases. Alexander’s work is unavoidable. For example, intensive testing is often done before a software is released or during its development. Furthermore, these tests are very important if, for example, intensive use of a software or a website is expected due to an upcoming event. More and more companies understand the advantage of professional testing, because IT applications or websites with poor performance are a clear competitive disadvantage.
The competitive advantage: Always one second ahead
Internet users and customers today expect lightning-fast response times of less than three seconds: Every additional second leads to lost sales. But fast systems also enable more efficient collaboration for IT applications used in-house. Proper execution of load and performance testing prevents complications during go-live.
Putting the big players to the test
Alexander is now allowed to carry out his experiments at big players all over the world – and he is particularly proud of this. He puts the systems of our global corporations in Energy, Automotive, Finance and Assurance to the test and analyzes the causes. That’s exactly what’s so exciting about his job. Analyzing a system always brings new results and insights, which has been the fun part of his job for 18 years now.
Alexander and Polygran
Alexander has been working at Polygran GmbH for almost 4 years. On behalf of the company, he uses load and performance tests to investigate the limits of the systems at large corporations. Alexander’s colleagues know his strengths. He can apply his talents to Polygran’s customers and continue to develop and improve our digital world.
Also be offline sometimes
In his free time, Alexander loves to be out in nature. He is currently working on a project in Hannover, but lives in Ulm. Both cities have excellent trails for walking along the waterfront. He walks between three and eight kilometers every day. When the weather permits, he also likes to go swimming outside to unwind. He also loves to spend his vacations in nature, travels with passion and loves rafting trips. In his free time, Alexander is completely “offline”. He is sure that the more you turn your own vacation upside down and do something completely different from your everyday life, the more intense the relaxation process is.
Home office or polygran office?
That’s why working in a home office all the time isn’t for him either. The line between private and professional is becoming increasingly blurred. He feels he is more productive in the office because there is a certain atmosphere in the office that provides a certain coordination in getting tasks done and a very specific feeling of working. He is hopefully looking forward to working with his colleagues in the office again soon to achieve common goals.
A tip for applicants
Finally, Alexander has a tip for interested candidates: For him, it was a wonderful experience that the small team at Polygran is so open and friendly to someone who is just starting out in a new company.
That’s why his tip is, “Just be friendly.” – Simple but meaningful. When you radiate genuine joy, it comes back to you.