Introduction to NonStop Operations Management

Performance Management
Introduction to NonStop Operations Management125507
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Staffing
Staffing
Staffing needs depend on the size of your company and the number of systems and
applications your company runs. The larger the company and the greater the number of
systems and applications, the greater the number of people who are involved in
performance management. If you have a small operations group, you might need to
assign only one person to the function. If you have a large operations group, you might
need to assign a group (or groups) to the function.
Staffing needs also depend on how the performance management tasks are divided. For
example, one group can perform application sizing, capacity planning, and performance
analysis and tuning. An alternative is to divide the three tasks among three different
groups.
To carry out its tasks effectively, the performance management staff should be
technically knowledgeable; have good communication skills; and have access to
necessary tools, training, and documentation. In addition, the staff should have the
following skills:
The application-sizing staff should understand your company’s plans for growth and
know how to:
Analyze application workload components
Create performance models for applications
Identify and evaluate options for computer system growth
Evaluate vendor offerings and tools
The capacity-planning staff should have good business analysis skills, understand
your company’s plans for growth and business requirements, and know how to:
Analyze information provided by the application-sizing staff
Collect and analyze performance statistics
Translate business plans into predictions of workload growth
Identify and evaluate options for computer system growth
Develop performance models
Tandem provides training in capacity planning. Currently, Software Education offers
a course called Capacity Modeling with TCM.
Note. The trend in the industry is to use fewer people to manage a greater number of objects.
This is tied to automation. Many of the performance-monitoring and data-collection tasks can
be automated, relieving the staff of these routine functions. For more information, refer to
Section 12, “Automating and Centralizing Operations.