Have you ever wondered what happens when the relational engine processes a query? How does the query optimizer choose an appropriate execution plan? In this session, we will answer both of those questions and more as we take a journey into the PROCESS of query optimization. Topics of discussion include how queries are Parsed, Resolved, Optimized, Complied, and Executed to return SQL Sets (PROCESS), we will step through the optimization phases from Trivial plans through Full optimization, and finally how the Max Degree of Parallelism (MAXDOP) and Cost Threshold of Parallelism (CTOP) settings are used in plan optimization. By the end of this session, you will have a better understanding of how to optimize your queries and improve query performance.