What is think time and why is it important in load testing?
- think time
- realistic load
- virtual users
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Model answer
Think time simulates the pause between user actions, a real user reads a page for 5-30 seconds before clicking the next link. Without think time, your load test generates unrealistically high request rates (each virtual user fires requests back-to-back), making results inaccurate. Too much think time underestimates load. Use realistic think times based on analytics data. In k6: `sleep(Math.random() * 5 + 2)` for 2-7 second random pauses.
What interviewers listen for
- Workload modellingYou design the load shape from product traffic, not from tool defaults.
- Percentile literacyYou read p50/p95/p99 separately and explain why each matters.
- Bottleneck triageYou correlate metrics across application, database, and infrastructure layers.
- Capacity instinctsYou can translate a soak test into a sizing or scaling recommendation.