In the event of a performance problem in the IT systems, the real response time of the execution is longer than the expected time. Poor software performance is usually caused by improper operation or coordination of external software such as databases or hardware. In the event of performance degradation, the performance limitations causing the problems must be identified and the necessary corrective measures must be taken. It helps to identify performance problems if we know the most common cases and reasons that can cause reduced system performance.
It is advisable to proactively solve performance problems, prevent errors, and test load performance at higher user levels in advance. Problems with software and applications can be caused by many factors. Below we provide an overview of the most common causes of performance decline.
Problem 1: Incorrect load distribution
Poor load balancing can result in slow response times. If the system incorrectly assigns new users to system elements, there will be too many users on one server at the same time, which will reduce system performance.
Problem 2: Traffic peaks
It is worth preparing in advance for suddenly increased traffic and significant traffic spikes. During our performance testing project for the Bulgarian DSK bank, we also had to account for the large-scale increase in traffic due to the increased traffic of the banking systems that merged after the acquisition.
Problem 3: Non-optimized databases
An optimized database enables the highest level of security and performance, while an unoptimized database can damage applications running in production.
Problem 4: Uncontrolled data growth
For the optimal performance of the IT system, the management and monitoring of the constantly growing data must be developed. It must be determined whether the increased data will be stored on-premises or in the cloud.
Problem 5: Badly written code
Poorly written code can lead to many software problems, such as memory leaks or inefficient algorithms. Old versions of software or integrated legacy systems can also cause performance degradation.
Issue 6: Third Party Services
In the case of third-party services, it must be accepted that certain slowdowns cannot be controlled by the party using the service. In such cases, if a performance problem occurs, it is worth checking the performance of our own software first. The question is, what kind of performance guarantees can the service provider provide us with?
Problem 7: Domino effect
The performance of a complex IT system can be greatly impaired if one location fails, then according to the principle of the domino effect, the rest of the software connected to it is affected one after the other. In this case, performance chaos is complete.
Adequate testing can prevent drastic performance degradation that threatens the operation of the company. According to the experience of ProofIT's professionals experienced in performance testing of complex IT systems, effective performance testing greatly reduces the occurrence of problems affecting performance. The simplest and most effective solution is to measure the performance of the software with a testing tool supported by automation.
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