Patent ID: 7552396

Claim:
A method executed by a computer system for monitoring the performance of an application comprising: determining an output of an application that requires monitoring, the output representing a performance metric associated with the application; assigning an audible sound to the output, wherein the audible sound is comprised of a plurality of configurable parameters; positioning an output display window representing the output of the application at a desired user-defined location on a performance monitoring screen, wherein the user-defined location of the output display window on the performance monitoring screen determines a perceived sound location from which the audible sound associated with the output will be emitted, wherein the audible sound is emitted from the perceived sound location by adjusting a phase of the audible sound, and wherein adjusting the phase of the audible sound allows the audible sound to be emitted from the perceived sound location even though a physical speaker is not positioned at the perceived sound location; running the application by the computer system and allowing the application to reach a state of equilibrium; determining a baseline for the output when the application is in the state of equilibrium, the baseline representing an output level that is substantially constant; monitoring the output to detect a change relative to the baseline; emitting the audible sound assigned to the output from the perceived sound location and bringing the display window into focus on the performance monitoring screen when the detected change varies from the baseline by a predetermined amount; and adjusting the configurable parameters of the audible sound to indicate the existence of the detected change, the magnitude of the detected change relative to the baseline, and the degree of deviation from the baseline, wherein an amplitude of the audible sound is adjusted to indicate the magnitude of the detected change from the baseline, and wherein a pitch of the audible sound is adjusted to indicate a positive change or a negative change from the baseline.