Charge-coupled devices (CCDs) have been the detector of choice for large-scale space missions for many years. Although dominant in this field, the charge transfer performance of the technology degrades over time due to the radiation-harsh space environment. Charge transfer performance can be optimized; however, it is often time consuming and expensive due to the many operating modes of the CCD, especially considering the ever-increasing needs of detector performance. A technique that uses measurements of the trap landscape present in a CCD to predict changes in charge transfer inefficiency as a function of different experimental variables is presented and developed. Using this technique, it is possible to focus experimental lab testing on key device parameters, potentially saving many months of laboratory effort. Due to the generality of the method, it can be used to optimize the charge transfer performance of any CCD and, as such, has many uses across a wide range of fields and space missions. Future CCD variants that will be used in potential space missions (EMCCD and p-channel CCDs) can use this technique to provide feedback of the key device performance to the wider mission consortium before devices are available for experimental testing.