1. A method of producing a benchmark application for testing input and output (I/O) settings of a computer application, the method comprising: by one or more hardware processor; compiling trace data relating to operations to be executed by the computer application; grouping the trace data into one or more phases, based on different stages in an execution of the computer application to which the operations relate; identifying patterns in the trace data and comparing the patterns; producing simplified trace data in which trace data having similar patterns are combined; and outputting a benchmark application which includes the simplified trace data and information indicating where the trace data have been combined; testing the benchmark application to establish a performance of benchmark operations of the benchmark application; and wherein the testing of the benchmark application further includes testing I/O settings of the benchmark application to identify one of or both of characteristics of a system and inefficiencies in data flow in the system, on which the computer application is executed.