How do you communicate performance issues effectively to non-technical stakeholders in game optimization?

To speak with non technical stackeholders about performance issues in game optimization, I use videos, tables and graphics explained in very simple language comparing three scenarios: 1. The ideal expected performance situation, 2. the "normal" situation 3. the performance issue situation, followed by an explanation of the causes and what action causes what effect (A cause/effect table or a demo, depends of the situation). The kind of the information that is presented depends of the nature of the issues, but in general I recommend to present the situation as it is, seek solutions that fix the gap between the ideal situation and the real condition of the game. Always present options to solve the situation.

Ejemplos visuales, tal vez Gameplay si lo hay, cualquier cosa que te ayude a lograr una explicación narrativa, sin ser técnica. Lo mejor es lograr contar una historia donde también puedas proponer una solución y pasos a seguir.

I think that if you truly understand the problem and know how things work, you will always be able to explain it in simple terms. And if the other person doesn’t have strong technical knowledge but sincerely wants to understand, help, and figure it out, they won’t have any issues with comprehension. After all, people don’t just come out of nowhere into the gaming industry. Everyone has played games, everyone knows what FPS is, and everyone has heard the term "graphic memory," and so on.

To speak with non technical stackeholders about performance issues in game optimization in many cases is more useful to use storytelling. Use real life elements to show different tech situations. For example, instead of talking about RAM, polygons and showing the stats, you can compare RAM space with a bowl, a plastic container or equivalent, compare Polygons with drops of water,etc. We know what happends if we flood a container. Now explain that there are alternatives to avoid the RAM flooding caused by the polygons, that have a low impact in the game quality, but can improve the stability and performance of the game where it is failing now. Is just a random example... but using simple real life elements to extrapolate tech helps.

To speak with non technical stackeholders about performance issues in game optimization, I have found is very important to involve them. Continuing with the lag example caused by the polygons, you can ask what they do it a game delays too much in loading or lags a lot. Then you can explain them the bowl/water example that I told above, and offer them solutions to avoid the flood in the game. Having in mind that tolerance to lag in games and webs is almost zero, and that dissatisfaction and bad comments from the critics about this issue can drop the game into the sandbox even before released, is easy to link the damage that the RAM flood will cause is not controlled with a possible the failure/drop in sales and revenue of the product.

I have borrowed the medical triage to prioritize tech issues in my projects, ranking from warning without consequences issues to life threatening events. This is the same system that I use to explain to my stakeholders the impact of each situation and the integral impact that each event can cause in the final results of the project. Is very important to identify also the origin/cause of each threatening event and how to overcome it. Sometimes the situation can be out of the hands of the team, like country regulations that change suddenly all the rules and impact directly the project continuity as is. Always is important to suggest solutions to go ahead or to addapt to the new conditions and move on.

To communicate performance issues effectively to non-technical stakeholders in game optimization, use clear, simple language and avoid technical jargon. Start by explaining the issue's impact on the user experience, such as slow loading times or gameplay lag. Use visual aids like charts or graphs to illustrate the problem and its severity. Relate the issue to business outcomes, such as player retention and revenue. Provide a high-level overview of the steps needed to resolve the problem and the expected benefits. By focusing on the user and business impact, you can make technical issues more understandable and relevant to non-technical stakeholders.