Performance Partner for AEM Agencies Performance requirements your client pays for, and a sign-off that covers your back
Christian Schreiber sets target values per page type for Adobe Experience Manager platforms, substantiates the need with Google's real-user data and signs off every release independently. Implementation remains entirely with the implementation partner. For AEM agencies and IT service providers, this means performance becomes commissioned work with clear criteria instead of unpaid rework after go-live.
No commission, no exclusivity, no implementation of its ownGermany, Austria, Switzerland, working language German
Performance requirements become commissioned work for AEM partners
- Budget instead of rework. If the contract contains no target value, performance becomes free extra work or a point of dispute after go-live. With requirements in the requirements specification (RFP), it becomes tickets that the client commissions.
- A business case from an independent party. When the agency itself asks for a performance budget, it looks like self-interest. When the evidence comes from field data and the AEM Core Web Vitals Benchmark 2026 provided from outside, the client approves the budget more readily.
- Acceptance criteria instead of debates about scores. Measurement is based on target values per page type from Google's real-user data, not on a Lighthouse score that changes from run to run.
- Follow-up orders over the course of the project. Since the AEM 6.5 End of Support, many platforms face a migration. Migration to Cloud Service or to Edge Delivery Services, restructuring of the client libraries, Dispatcher configuration: every requirement creates implementation work for the partner.
Collaboration process: initial analysis, requirements, tickets, sign-off
- Initial analysis. The real-user data of the platform and two competitors is available before the first meeting, broken down into response time and frontend.
- Requirements. Target values per page type and market, cache strategy, budgets for JavaScript and CSS, rules for images and third parties, agreed with client and agency.
- Tickets. Prioritized tasks with acceptance criteria in the project's ticket system, plus answers to questions from the development team.
- Sign-off. Every release is checked against the target values, with a report that states the measured value, target value and source per page type.
Typical AEM requirements that become tickets for the implementation partner
- Limit Dispatcher invalidation to the affected paths and remove campaign parameters from the cache key.
- Split client libraries by page type and separate the part for the visible area from the rest.
- Use the image component of the Core Components with defined renditions and reserved dimensions.
- Load Adobe Launch, Adobe Target and the data layer so that they do not block the first interaction.
- Introduce an approval process for new tags and third parties, checked against the performance budget.
The complete list with wording is available in the AEM Performance Requirements Template, the technical background under Adobe Experience Manager Performance.
Independence: no commission, no exclusivity, no implementation
The benefit for agencies exists only as long as the sign-off remains credible. That is why fixed rules apply: no commission and no referral fee in either direction, no stake in any implementation partner, no preferred agency and no implementation in the same project. All partners are signed off against the same criteria. The engagement is usually commissioned by the end client; a recommendation by the agency is explicitly welcome.
Material for AEM agencies: template, benchmark and role models under CC BY 4.0
- AEM Performance Requirements Template: seven requirements with acceptance criteria for proposals and tenders.
- AEM Core Web Vitals Benchmark 2026 with datasets for your own presentations.
- The fastest AEM websites in the DACH region as a reference for clients.
Background and career are described on the page Christian Schreiber, the services under Web Performance Consulting.
Book a free performance analysis
30 minutes by video. You receive Google's real-user data for your platform compared with two competitors, regardless of whether a project follows.
Frequently asked questions from AEM agencies and IT service providers
Is an external performance sign-off competition for the AEM agency?
No. Implementation remains entirely with the implementation partner. Target values, requirements and the sign-off come from outside. This results in commissioned tasks for the agency, not orders for a competitor.
Who commissions the service?
Usually the end client, so that the sign-off remains independent of implementation. Agencies recommend the service to their clients, for example before a migration or when Search Console reports poor Core Web Vitals.
Is there a commission for referrals?
No, in neither direction. Agencies receive no commission for referrals, and no agency is recommended in exchange for a commission. This is the only way the sign-off remains credible for everyone involved.
Which AEM versions does the collaboration cover?
Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 and 6.5 LTS, AEM as a Cloud Service and Edge Delivery Services.