What distinguishes stress testing from load testing?

Stress testing is distinguished from load testing primarily by its aim of determining the maximum capacity of a system. Stress testing involves evaluating how a system behaves under extreme conditions or loads that exceed typical usage patterns. The goal is to identify the breaking points of the system, understand how it fails, and determine whether it can recover gracefully after a failure. This typically involves pushing the system beyond its normal operational capacity to observe its limits.

In contrast, load testing is performed to understand how the system behaves under expected workloads. It involves simulating multiple users or transactions to assess performance metrics, such as response times and throughput, under various conditions, but always within defined limits that the application is expected to handle in typical use.

This clear distinction in focus is what makes the first statement the correct choice, as it explicitly highlights stress testing’s emphasis on pushing the system to its maximum capacity to discover its limits and potential failure points.

The other options do not accurately capture the fundamental differences between stress testing and load testing. Load testing is formal and systematic, performed under controlled conditions to gather reliable data; it would not be classified as informal. Additionally, stress testing is generally executed under simulated conditions rather than with real users, and while both types of testing can lead to insights about error