Software Architect's Handbook

Taking a systematic approach to performance improvement

When looking to improve the performance of an application, the entire development team should be involved. Teams will have greater success at optimizing performance when the entire team, and not just certain individuals, take ownership of the performance of the software application.

When engaging in an effort to improve performance, it can be helpful to follow a systematic approach. An iterative process that consists of the following steps can be used for performance improvement:

• Profiling the application
• Analyzing the results
• Implementing changes
• Monitoring changes

The following diagram illustrates this process:

Let's now take a closer look at each of the steps in the process.