[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Evergreen & Software Performance Analysis

[Kathy Lussier]

Thank you for contributing to the discussion Stephen!

I'll defer to Jason and Mike's expertise on how database communications 
are handled, but in terms of improving queries to optimize performance, 
I do see this as something that a performance analysis should address. 
Following up on Mike's request for details, I think what would be 
helpful is to hear where those queries can be improved.

For many of us, we might not know that a performance problem is caused 
by a query that could be optimized; we just know that a particular 
interface loads slowly or that a particular function takes too long 
complete. All of that information is highly useful, even if you don't 
know what the underlying cause of the problem is. We can leave it up to 
the Mikes and the Jasons and the performance analysts of the world to 
figure it out for us. I know I've already mis-categorized one of the 
problems I identified, but that's okay because the important point is 
that we make sure those problems are indeed identified.

>
> The bigger point implied in the initial email, and what I wanted to 
> address more broadly, is that QA is seen as "someone else's problem" 
> and it's that someone else's (presumably the RM's) responsibility to 
> test, identify and repair defects.  I disagree with that.  I think we 
> can all play a part -- even if we don't know we are doing so -- and 
> should.  There's plenty in both scale and breadth to do.
>

I tend to agree with Mike's statement. Being part of an open-source 
project, I think we all take responsibility for the quality of the 
product and the resources that support that product (i.e. documentation, 
communication, etc.). You don't need to be a developer or systems person 
to make a contribution to the software or the community that supports it.

For those who don't know me, I am not a systems person, I know very 
little about code, and, up until a few weeks ago, I never gave much 
thought to what might go into a software performance analysis. I'm 
hoping this discussion thread and the corresponding wiki page at 
http://www.evergreen-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=dev:testing:performance_issues 
is seen as an open invitation for other non-developer folks like me to 
identify where those pain points are in the software and to make a 
contribution to the solution. You might not think you are making a big 
contribution, but any further data on places where performance could be 
optimized is very helpful. Those who are using the system on a daily 
basis or supporting those who use it on a daily basis are the most 
qualified to identify those times when the software makes them wait too 
long for a response.

Of course, I want to hear from all those technical folks as well, 
because you all could provide insight on some of the backend functions 
that the average user may not see. The more people we hear from in this 
discussion, no matter what the skill level, the better position we will 
be in to start any type for performance analysis.

Kathy