Why Communication Is Crucial in Performance Engineering?
A Real-World Story
In the world of software development, performance issues often surface not because of bad code, but because of miscommunication or, worse, no communication at all. One of the most overlooked yet critical aspects of performance engineering is the ability to mediate between different teams and stakeholders. Performance engineering is often perceived as a purely technical discipline, focused on tools, measurements, and optimizations. In reality, it also requires strong interpersonal and communication skills. Let me share a story that illustrates just how important this can be.
The Problem That No One Owned
It was late in the project lifecycle, during integration testing, when a critical API consistently timed out. The frontend and API development vendor insisted that everything had been implemented correctly and had passed their internal tests. On the other side, the backend operations team claimed no changes had been requested from them; they were simply exposing an existing API. From their perspective, the system was behaving exactly as designed.
The project management team found themselves stuck in a deadlock. No one was taking responsibility, and the clock was ticking. Each team focused only on its own deliverables and contractual boundaries instead of the end-to-end user experience. As a result, a system-level performance issue had no clear owner.
Stepping In as a Mediator
That’s when I was temporarily brought in from another project to help investigate. My first step wasn’t to dive into logs or metrics; it was to introduce myself to the frontend and API teams. I made it clear that I wasn’t there to point fingers, but to understand the issue from their perspective. Although they were initially skeptical, after all, no one likes a “fixer” sent by management, they appreciated that I was genuinely trying to help. Creating a sense of psychological safety turned out to be just as important as any technical analysis.
Next, I reached out to the backend operations team with the same approach. I explained that I was a neutral party, just trying to get to the bottom of the issue. By listening to each team separately, I was able to build trust and gather context that would never have appeared in dashboards or monitoring tools.
Finding the Root Cause
It didn’t take long to uncover the problem. The frontend was requesting far more data than necessary from the backend, which couldn’t handle the load in time. This wasn’t a bug in the traditional sense; it was a design oversight. The backend wasn’t built to serve that volume of data, and no one had flagged this during planning or development. There were no clearly defined performance requirements, data volume assumptions, or load expectations agreed upon early in the project.
In isolation, each component worked as intended. The failure only appeared when the system was used as a whole, under realistic conditions. This is a classic example of how performance problems are often emergent properties of distributed systems rather than simple coding errors.
Turning Blame into Collaboration
Understandably, the developers felt uncomfortable. They had to fix something they didn’t feel responsible for. But instead of letting frustration grow, I offered to communicate the findings to leadership and the client team. I explained how the issue arose, not from negligence, but from a gap in early-stage planning and performance requirement definition. By framing the problem in neutral, factual terms, the emotional tension in the room immediately decreased.
The result? The issue was resolved, the finger-pointing stopped, and the teams started working together more constructively. More importantly, performance discussions were introduced earlier in future projects, preventing similar issues from recurring.
The Real Lesson
This story isn’t just about fixing a timeout error. It’s about the value of early communication, clearly defined performance requirements, and having someone who can bridge the gap between teams. Catching these issues early doesn’t just save money; it saves stress, preserves trust, and fosters a healthier working environment. Performance engineering is not only about systems behaving well; it’s about people working well together.
So next time you think performance engineering is just about tools and metrics, remember: sometimes, the most powerful tool is a conversation.