Build parallel programs, e.g. via open sources packages.
Run parallel programs in an HPC environment.
Use a compiler and to assess the effects of optimization switches available for the relevant compilers (e.g. GNU, Intel).
Use a linker and to assess the effects of linker specific options and environment variables (e.g. -L and LIBRARYPATH, -rpath and LDRUN_PATH).
Configure the relevant settings (e.g. by setting compiler and linker options), which determine how the application ought to be built with regard to the parallelization technique(s) used (e.g. OpenMP, MPI).
Use software building environments like make, Autotools, CMake.