Additional performance analysis tools are widely available as shareware. Evidence shows, however, that HPC application developers simply aren't using the current generation of debugging and tuning tools. The group included users from research institutions and from third-party applications developers, as well as software tool developers from the HPC industry. The users were asked to identify reasons why they don't use current software tools. Tools don't do what their developers claim they will.
Tools are too machine-specific.
Tools don't interoperate properly, so many steps have to be repeated or performed manually. Users don't really understand how or when to apply existing tools. Therefore, they avoid using tools unless there is no other way to accomplish a necessary task. What's needed is some sort of guarantee that tool skills learned for one HPC system will be applicable on other systems as well. In turn, tool developers were asked why they don't appear to respond to user criticisms of system software and tools.