Why has Egencia's flight search response time increased from 2 seconds to 5 seconds on average during peak business hours?

Introduction

Egencia's flight search response time increase from 2 to 5 seconds during peak business hours is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. This performance degradation directly impacts user experience and could lead to decreased conversions and customer satisfaction. I'll approach this problem systematically, focusing on identifying the root cause, validating hypotheses, and developing both short-term fixes and long-term solutions.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking this might be related to peak load. Can you confirm if this slowdown is consistent across all peak business hours or if it varies?

Why it matters: Helps determine if it's a capacity issue or something more specific. Expected answer: Consistent across peak hours. Impact on approach: If consistent, focus on scalability; if varied, investigate specific time patterns.

• Given the specificity of the increase, I'm wondering about recent changes. Have there been any significant updates to the flight search algorithm or infrastructure in the past month?

Why it matters: Recent changes are often the culprit in sudden performance shifts. Expected answer: A recent update to the search algorithm. Impact on approach: If yes, focus on rollback or optimization; if no, look at external factors or gradual degradation.

• Considering user segments, I'm curious if this affects all users equally. Do we see any differences in response times based on user type (e.g., business vs. leisure travelers) or search complexity?

Why it matters: Helps narrow down if it's a general issue or specific to certain use cases. Expected answer: More pronounced for complex business travel searches. Impact on approach: If segmented, focus on optimizing specific user flows; if universal, look at core infrastructure.

• Thinking about data sources, has there been any change in our flight data providers or the way we integrate with them?

Why it matters: External dependencies can significantly impact performance. Expected answer: No recent changes in providers, but increased data volume. Impact on approach: If changed, investigate integration points; if not, look at data processing efficiency.