When systems start slowing down, the immediate question from managers is usually 'Can you fix it?' rather than understanding what changed or considering a change in the system design.
In many cases, performance problems in systems are not solely due to technical issues like bad queries or memory leaks, but are often rooted in management decisions and organizational structures.
The inefficiencies in code are often just visible symptoms of deeper management problems within the organization, leading to slow systems such as clunky frontends, crawling APIs, and overworked databases.
One particular project highlighted had slow page load times due to nested microservices and convoluted system architecture, showcasing how management decisions can impact system performance.