Visual Studio Integration - Include Test Complete Tests as part of Visual Studio Load Tests

Visual Studio enterprise allows us to create Load Tests to performance test our application. This achieved by creating a series of Web Performance Test scripts and then creating a Load Test setup to distribute the scripts and user load in a controlled manner. (Fig 1)

Fig 1. Visual Studio Web Performance Test scripts in Load Test setup

Currently Test Completes support integration with Visual Studio where Test complete scripts can be run via a Visual Studio controller and Test Agent config. But this is limited to only running Test complete tests one by one (Like a regression test suite). Unfortunately a Test Complete script which is in a Visual Studio project cannot be run via the Visual Studio Load Test setup as it does not recognise Test Complete scripts. You get the below error when tying to add the test to a load test config (Fig 2)

 Fig 2. Error when adding an existing Test Complete script to a Load Test Setup

The reason why Test Complete comes in handy for load tests is because some applications depend on processing in the client end before displaying the results in the GUI (something like a thick client). The time taken for this processing would not be captured via middle tier simulation supported by Visual Studio. Business critical systems which require transaction performance monitored release by release will benefit from the ability to include Test complete scripts in a Visual Studio Load Test as it will allow us to create background "Load" via Visual Studio scripts and monitor real life End to end transaction performance under load via a series of Test complete scripts which run as part of the load test.