What do I need to do to increase the power in my car?

Hey everyone I'm coming to you with a simple request. I want to put in a little more power to my 2012 Ford Taurus SHO and am looking into a bigger intake and a better sounding exhaust with down piping. I'm new to modding my car and am seeking some guidance on making sure I do this correctly. This is my everyday car so cutting corners is not an option and I would like to do this right the first time and enjoy the new changes.

With these upgrades in mind do I:

-Need to swap software so I can reach the full potential of my cars engine?
-Change the octane in the from 87 to something higher?
-Swap spark plugs?
- Etc.

I hate surprises that cost money to fix so any help is appreciated in doing this.

I only ask the your responses be respectful.

Isn't that a twin turbo V6 engine and are you really running 87 octane?! You should be running 91 and higher.

If you want to do this correctly and not cut corners, then you're going to have to spend money and take your time. First things first, get the car onto a dyno so you can see how much HP and Torque the car is actually putting out right now and the HP and Torque curve.

Once that's done, you can do your intake, your down pipes and then back to the dyno to see what your gains and/or losses might be and how the hp/torque curve may have moved. With down pipes the turbos should spool up quicker and stay cooler which may move your torque curve lower on the rpm scale. Anyway, a dyno run will verify that the mods you are spending money on are actually doing something.

In terms of software best to visit a Ford SHO forum (Google it) and see what others prefer to use.