“Performance analysis should not be considered a purely technical specialization,” says Yevhen Leshchynskyy, a Senior Performance Analyst with six years of experience. “This is a multifaceted area that requires skills in programming and working with hardware, the ability to think strategically, seek compromise and plan, as well as outstanding communication skills. Working as a performance analyst allows you to take a closer look at the many roles on the project and determine the further career path. " In this article, Yevhen talks about his professional journey and the importance of performance analysis for business and users.
Performance engineering is a critical phase of software development in the modern business realities
Each of us encounters the results of the work of performance testers and analysts daily, without even realizing it. You do not have to put yourself in the big businesses’ shoes to feel the impact. We notice that the load on the website or application has not been properly calculated, only when something goes wrong. Here is an everyday example: parents intend to register a child in the queuing system for daycare enrollment. Registration is supposed to begin on a certain day and hour. They expect that this simple procedure will take no more than 15 minutes, but at the appointed time the site goes down under the influx of users and a seemingly elementary task is stretched indefinitely. Now imagine that it is an online store or other online venture, where even a few minutes of the system’s downtime may result in huge losses for the business owner. It is unlikely that customers would be keen to use its services in the future. Therefore, a business that seeks to win customers’ loyalty and avoid potential reputational risks and losses should consider performance engineering as a cornerstone from the very beginning.
It is not entirely correct to equate performance testing and performance optimization. The first is chiefly about collecting certain data and indicators and assessing the current state of affairs, and the second is about improving the system’s efficiency. (You can find a detailed overview of both specialties in the article Who is Performance Engineer? on our portal).
One-man band
Unlike most other popular project roles, such as developers, testers, designers, etc., only one performance analyst usually works on a project. For that reason, the Performance Analyst from the start, even as a Junior, may potentially communicate with high-level specialists on the project, both in their team and on the customer’s side. It stimulates development, gives a chance to quickly gain valuable experience and learn to think globally, but requires both advanced soft skills and the ability to explain complex technical concepts in simple words, as well as fluent English to communicate with the customer's team.
Also, you often work in distributed teams. That was the case with my first project at EPAM. Most of the team was based in Minsk, and I was in Lviv. So, we had to simultaneously dive into the project work and establish interaction with colleagues and do it remotely as well. That is quite a challenge you need to be prepared for.
A typical portrait of a performance analyst
In the profession of the performance analyst, there are no small parts, every aspect is of equal weight. You need not only to obtain a specific set of data but also correctly interpret it, turn it into useful insights for business, draw up recommendations for the system’s optimization, that would have a positive impact on the business as a whole. Therefore, for the performance analyst, the ability to concentrate and think analytically plays an important role.
Besides that, a person who wants to pursue a career in performance analysis must have an experimenter’s spirit and research interest, because the question of productivity is not something unambiguous and indisputable.
Most often, performance analysts come in this area from related fields, such as functional testing, with some previous experience and knowledge.
The barrier of entry is quite high due to the complexity of the direction, so mastering this profession without a technical background is not impossible but can be quite difficult.
Today, you can learn performance analysis in various educational programs, particularly at EPAM Campus. My journey started in 2010-2011 and involved a lot of self-study, Google searching and learning from my own mistakes. But as a saying goes “a journey of the thousand miles begins with the single step”: each new project presents an opportunity to identify and eliminate gaps in your knowledge and to gain experience piece by piece. And then the sky is the limit!
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