/pərˈfɔːr.məns/
noun — "how fast your code runs before users start complaining."
Performance in information technology refers to the effectiveness and efficiency with which a system, application, or network executes its tasks. It encompasses metrics like speed, responsiveness, resource utilization, and throughput, helping engineers optimize systems for reliability and user experience.
Technically, Performance involves:
- Latency — the time it takes for a system to respond to requests.
- Throughput — the amount of work or data processed over a given time.
- Resource utilization — monitoring CPU, memory, and storage efficiency.
- Scalability — the system's ability to maintain performance under increased load.
Examples of Performance measurement include:
- Benchmarking a web server’s request handling under high traffic.
- Monitoring database query execution times and optimizing indexes.
- Profiling application code to identify bottlenecks and reduce CPU usage.
Conceptually, Performance is the report card of your system—it reveals how well your IT infrastructure or software meets expectations and identifies areas for improvement.
In practice, Performance is assessed through monitoring tools, logging, benchmarking, and analysis to guide optimization and ensure systems meet operational and user requirements.
See Latency, Throughput, Logging, Monitoring, Optimization.