To investigate the deformation performances of high-rise steel frame structures in the serviceability limit state

full-path analyses was carried out for 30-story frames using finite element method

in which the random distribution of initial geometric imperfections in structural system and its individual members were taken into account by Monte Carlo method

and the probability density functions of the structural deformations were gained in probability statistics terms. The results indicate that the effect of the random initial imperfections on the frame deformations is so small that it can be neglected in the advanced analysis. Moreover

since the deformations at top of columns obtained from the second-order analysis are much larger than those from the first-order analysis

the second-order deformations should be used to estimate whether they meet the requirements of the serviceability limit state in the advanced design. A deformation performance-based practical advanced design method is proposed accordingly.