Which one of the following statements regarding performance testing is MOST correct?

Performance testing assesses how a system behaves under specific conditions, typically focusing on responsiveness, stability, and resource usage. The type of performance test depends on the workload model:

Load testing evaluates performance under expected peak usage.

Stress testing pushes the system beyond its capacity to assess limits.

Endurance/stability testing checks for performance degradation over extended periods.

Option A correctly describes that performance test types are determined by the workload simulation strategy.

Other options:

B confuses performance with security testing — malicious attack robustness is a security focus, not performance.

C is partly correct but less comprehensive than A. While testing should simulate realistic conditions, categorization into stress/load/endurance is better aligned with workload modeling.

D is misleading — performance tests validate systems against performance requirements; they are not primarily used to define them.

Answer: A. Depending on the model used to simulate the workload, performance tests are called load, stress or endurance / stability tests.