Performance-centered design
In this oldie-but-goodie Craig Marion explores the concept of "performance-centered design," which is similiar to the "usage-centered design" concept advocated by Alan Cooper.
Craig's take on it is interesting because it deals with more of the traditional software arena—useful as web apps become more prevelant—and has a nice list of some specific attributes of performance-centered designs. Finally, toward the end of the article he's got some good business case justifications with actual numbers from real projects. ::
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .