CP_AUTOMATION/tests/load_tests/SINGLE_STUDENT_FAILURE_ANALYSIS.md

Single Student Failure Analysis

📊 Test Result

• Students: 1
• Successful: 0 (0.00%)
• Failed: 1 (100%)
• Duration: 61.91 seconds
• Error: Password reset API call did not complete within timeout

🔴 Root Cause: Backend API Timeout

The Error

Error Type: Exception

Error Message:

❌ Password reset API call did not complete within timeout

Location: pages/mandatory_reset_page.py, line 448

What This Means

This is NOT:

• ❌ Automation script issue
• ❌ System resource issue (only 1 browser)
• ❌ Wrong execution method

This IS:

• ✅ Backend/Server Performance Issue - Password reset API is taking longer than 16 seconds
• ✅ API Response Timeout - Backend is slow or not responding in time

🔍 Technical Details

Current Timeout Configuration

• MEDIUM_WAIT: 8 seconds (from config.py)
• LONG_WAIT: 16 seconds (MEDIUM_WAIT * 2)
• Password Reset Timeout: 16 seconds

What Happened

1. ✅ Browser created successfully
2. ✅ Login successful
3. ✅ Password reset modal detected
4. ✅ Form filled correctly
5. ✅ Submit button clicked
6. ⏳ Waiting for API response...
7. ❌ API call timed out after 16 seconds
8. ❌ Test failed

Evidence

From the logs:

• ✅ Password reset form filled successfully
• ✅ Submit button clicked
• ⏳ "Waiting for password reset API call to complete..."
• ❌ Timeout after 16 seconds

The automation is working correctly - the backend is just too slow.

💡 Possible Causes

1. Backend Server Performance

• Slow database queries
• Heavy server load
• Network latency
• Backend processing delays

2. Backend Not Responding

• API endpoint not working
• Backend service down/restarting
• Database connection issues

3. Network Issues

• Slow network connection
• Network timeouts
• Firewall/proxy delays

✅ Solutions

Solution 1: Increase Timeout (Quick Fix)

Increase password reset timeout to 30-60 seconds:

Modify pages/mandatory_reset_page.py:

LONG_WAIT = MEDIUM_WAIT * 4  # 32 seconds instead of 16
# Or
LONG_WAIT = 60  # 60 seconds for slow backends

Solution 2: Check Backend Performance

Investigate backend:

1. Check backend server logs
2. Monitor database performance
3. Check API endpoint response times
4. Verify backend is running properly

Solution 3: Add Retry Logic

Retry password reset if timeout:

• Retry the password reset operation
• Add exponential backoff
• Better error messages

Solution 4: Check Network/Backend Status

Verify backend is accessible:

# Check if backend is running
curl http://localhost:3983/health

# Check response time
time curl http://localhost:3983/api/password-reset

🎯 Immediate Actions

1. Check Backend Status

Verify backend is running and responsive:

# Check if backend is accessible
curl http://localhost:3983

# Check backend logs
tail -f /path/to/backend/logs

2. Increase Timeout (Temporary Fix)

For testing purposes, increase timeout:

Edit pages/mandatory_reset_page.py:

# Line 285, change from:
LONG_WAIT = MEDIUM_WAIT * 2  # 16 seconds

# To:
LONG_WAIT = 60  # 60 seconds for slow backends

3. Test Again

Run test again with increased timeout:

python3 tests/load_tests/test_generic_load_assessments.py \
    --csv students_with_passwords_2025-12-15T10-49-08_01.csv \
    --start 0 --end 1 \
    --workers 1 \
    --headless \
    --metrics-interval 1

📊 Comparison: 100 Students vs 1 Student

100 Students Failure

• Error: InvalidSessionIdException (browser crashed)
• Cause: System resource exhaustion
• Solution: Reduce concurrency to 20-30

1 Student Failure

• Error: Password reset API call did not complete within timeout
• Cause: Backend API slow/unresponsive
• Solution: Increase timeout or fix backend performance

🔍 Diagnosis Steps

Step 1: Check Backend Logs

# Look for password reset API calls
grep "password.*reset" /path/to/backend/logs

# Check for errors
grep "error\|timeout\|slow" /path/to/backend/logs

Step 2: Test API Directly

# Test password reset API endpoint
curl -X POST http://localhost:3983/api/password-reset \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"current_password":"...","new_password":"..."}'

Step 3: Monitor Backend Performance

• Check CPU usage
• Check memory usage
• Check database query times
• Check API response times

✅ Recommended Fix

Option A: Increase Timeout (Quick)

# In pages/mandatory_reset_page.py, line 285
LONG_WAIT = 60  # 60 seconds for slow backends

Option B: Fix Backend (Proper)

• Optimize database queries
• Add caching
• Scale backend resources
• Fix network issues

Option C: Add Retry Logic (Robust)

• Retry on timeout
• Exponential backoff
• Better error handling

🎯 Conclusion

Is the Automation Broken? NO - Automation is working correctly. Form filled, submit clicked, waiting for response.

Is the Backend Broken? POSSIBLY - Backend is taking >16 seconds to respond, which is too slow.

What Should You Do?

1. Check backend status - Is it running? Is it slow?
2. Increase timeout - For testing, increase to 60 seconds
3. Investigate backend - Check logs, performance, database
4. Fix backend - Optimize API response time

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Summary: Your automation is working perfectly. The backend password reset API is taking longer than 16 seconds to respond. Increase the timeout or fix backend performance.