What is persistence testing?

Definition

Persistence testing checks whether durable data survives beyond the immediate interface state. It can cover browser refreshes, application restarts, new sessions and synchronization between different views.

A page may appear to save a change even when only temporary local state was updated. Refreshing and re-reading the record helps confirm that the intended storage layer actually retained it.

ELI5

Persistence testing checks whether an application really remembers what was saved. Information should not vanish when the page closes or reloads.

For example, after changing a profile name, the tester refreshes the browser and confirms that the new name still appears.

Frequently asked questions

What failures can persistence testing reveal?

It can reveal unsaved changes, incorrect caching, synchronization errors, incomplete database writes and state that disappears between sessions.

Is one refresh enough for every persistence test?

No. Higher-risk features may also need a new session, application restart, another device or verification of synchronized views.

Videos explaining persistence testing