Techniques for leveraging frequent patterns identified in a captured workload are provided. In one approach, multiple frequent patterns detected in a captured workload may be ordered by frequency to determine, for example, which patterns should be targeted for optimization. In another approach, a model of a captured workload is created, where the model comprises nodes that represent templates (which in turn correspond to requests) and edges that represent transitions between templates. The model is used to create an artificial workload, such as a workload that is twice as large as the originally-captured workload. The model may also be edited before creating the artificial workload. In another approach, workload models are compared to identify errors, regressions, or security issues. In another approach, an artificial workload is created for an application that is not yet deployed and then executed to determine whether the artificial workload or the originally-captured workload executed faster.