Partitioning distributed object applications across client-server or n-tier topologies is a crucial aspect of developing distributed systems. One approach to partitioning involves a tool that observes an actual run of the application, records all interaction between objects, and then makes recommendations to the programmer concerning: how the application should be partitioned into groups of objects, and to which host machine each group of objects should be assigned for best overall performance of the application and for good system load balancing. The programmer then reviews those recommendations, possibly refines the partitioning, and perhaps even refines the design of the application to improve performance even further. Ultimately, the application is deployed on the full topology and executed in production runs.