Compuware has announced a new version of its QACenter Performance Edition performance load testing solution, Compuware QALoad 5.5.

Detroit-based Compuware said the new release simplifies load testing by providing reusable scripting rules that let developers automate test scripting.

With QALoad 5.5, developers can focus on testing rather than test preparation because the tool helps to reduce the time required to create testing scripts, Compuware officials said.

QALoad is targeted at Web, Java, .Net, packaged ERP and CRM applications and distributed applications, the company said. And the product offers the simulation of thousands of users hitting an application as part of its testing capability.

New features in QALoad 5.5 include a new wizard for creating rules, a rules library, an Expert User capability for Web applications, enhanced remote monitoring for servers, and enhanced reporting.

Read more here about Compuware's security analysis tool.

"QALoad's new automated parameterization wizard and rules library will dramatically increase productivity for our clients" said Thomas Poirier, chief executive at Durham, N.H.-based Persystence, in a statement.

"The ability to simplify the creation, storage and sharing of rules is a crucial time-saver for difficult-to-automate patterns and could reduce script creation and maintenance by as much as forty or fifty percent."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Maly, director, Compuware Quality Solutions, said QALoad is a particularly useful tool because "knowing how an application will perform in production is crucial to business success."

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