Applying Human Factors to the Design of Performance Tools

Abstract. After two decades of research in parallel tools for performance tuning, why are users still dissatis ed? This paper outlines the human factors issues that determine how performance tools are perceived by users. The information provides insight into why current performance visualizations are not as well received as they should be | and what must be done in order to develop tools that are more closely aligned to user needs and preferences. Speci c mechanisms are suggested for improving three aspects of performance visualizations: how the user explores the performance space, how the user compares di erent aspects of program behavior, and how the user navigates through complex source code. 1 The Performance Tuning Problem For over two decades, a great deal of research e ort has been directed at tools for improving the performance of parallel applications. Signi cant progress has been made, as can be seen by comparing some of the surveys of parallel tools from that time period [22, 23, 2]. Why, then, are parallel performance tools stil