How do you communicate software performance?

1 Define performance goals

Before you start developing or testing your software, you need to define what performance means for your project and how you will measure it. Performance goals are the expected or desired outcomes of your software in terms of speed, scalability, availability, resource consumption, and quality. You can use quantitative indicators, such as response time, throughput, error rate, or CPU usage, to set and track your performance goals. You should also consider the context and expectations of your users, clients, and stakeholders, and align your performance goals with the business objectives and requirements.

2 Choose performance tools

To communicate software performance, you need to use appropriate tools that can collect, analyze, and visualize your performance data. Depending on the scope and complexity of your project, you may require different types of tools. Profilers can help you observe and report the execution details of your code, such as the time and memory spent on each function or module. This can assist in identifying and optimizing performance bottlenecks. Additionally, load testers simulate and measure the behavior and performance of your software under different levels and types of user demand. This can help in assessing scalability and reliability. Lastly, monitoring tools track and alert the performance and health of your software in real time. These tools can enable quick troubleshooting and resolution of performance issues.

3 Document performance results

As you develop and test your software, it's essential to document your performance results and share them with your team and stakeholders. Performance documentation is a way of communicating the current state and progress of your software performance, as well as the challenges and recommendations for improvement. To do this, you can use reports, dashboards, or presentations. Reports are written documents that summarize and explain your performance findings, while dashboards are visual displays of your performance data and metrics. Presentations are oral or online sessions that present and discuss your performance results. These formats can be tailored to suit your needs and preferences, such as creating a dashboard that shows the response time, throughput, and error rate of your software for different scenarios or environments. Through performance documentation, you can inform or persuade your stakeholders to invest in performance improvement.

4 Use performance feedback

To communicate software performance effectively, you need to use feedback from your team, stakeholders, and users. Feedback is a way of exchanging information and opinions about your software performance, as well as learning and improving from it. You can use different sources and techniques for gathering and using performance feedback, such as reviews, surveys, and tests. Reviews are formal or informal evaluations of your software performance by your team members, peers, clients, or managers. They can help you assess and validate your performance results, as well as identify and address any gaps or issues. Surveys are structured or unstructured questions that collect data and opinions from your users or customers about your software performance. They can help you measure and understand the performance perception and expectation of your users or customers, as well as their satisfaction and loyalty. Tests are experiments or trials that compare and contrast the performance of your software with different alternatives or competitors. These can help you benchmark and improve your software performance, as well as demonstrate its value and advantage.

5 Follow performance standards

To communicate software performance consistently and credibly, you need to follow some performance standards and best practices. Performance standards are the accepted or established norms or guidelines for measuring and reporting software performance, such as definitions, metrics, methods, or formats. You can use industry standards to ensure the relevance and reliability of your software performance, while organizational standards can help you align your software performance with organizational goals and requirements. Personal standards can motivate and challenge you or your team to achieve and exceed your software performance. For example, you can use a personal standard goal to set or track your performance targets, or an industry standard tool or protocol to test or monitor the performance of your software. Reporting and documenting the incident will help you inform and reassure the stakeholders, as well as provide valuable insights for improving your cloud security posture.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?