Facebook Events startup time slowed. What would you do?

Introduction

The Facebook Events startup time slowdown is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. As we delve into this product performance problem, I'll employ a systematic approach to identify, validate, and address the root cause while considering both short-term fixes and long-term implications.

I'll begin by clarifying the issue, then rule out external factors before diving deep into the product's user journey and metrics. From there, I'll formulate data-driven hypotheses, conduct root cause analysis, and propose validation methods and solutions.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• What specific metrics are we using to measure startup time, and how significant is the slowdown?

• When did we first notice this issue, and has it been gradually worsening or did it occur suddenly?

• Are all users affected equally, or are there variations across devices, regions, or user segments?

• Have there been any recent updates to the Events feature or related systems?

• Are there any correlating changes in user engagement or retention metrics?

• Has there been any change in how we measure or define startup time recently?

Why these questions matter: Understanding the scope and context of the problem is crucial for effective analysis. The answers will guide our investigation and help prioritize potential causes.

Hypothetical answers:

• Startup time has increased by 30% over the past week, measured from app launch to Events page load.
• The issue affects all users but is more pronounced on older Android devices.
• No major updates were pushed recently, but there was a backend infrastructure change two weeks ago.

Impact on solution approach: These answers would focus our investigation on backend changes and device-specific optimizations, while also considering gradual degradation of performance over time.