Considerations on the insularity of performance evaluation

It is argued that systems performance evaluation, in the first 20 years of its existence, has developed in substantial isolation from such disciplines as computer architecture, system organization, operating systems, and software engineering. The possible causes for this phenomenon, which seems to be unique in the history of engineering, are explored. Its positive and negative effects on computer science and technology, as well as on performance evaluation itself, are discussed. The drawbacks of isolated development outweigh its advantages. Thus, instructional and research initiatives to foster the rapid integration of the performance evaluation viewpoint into the mainstream of computer science and engineering are proposed.