Effective observability depends on aligning how we measure three things: what a system does, what is achieved with it, and what is gained. When these perspectives drift apart, people work in isolation and make decisions that don't add up.

Measurements also need a purpose. Different disciplines operate on different timelines, in different contexts, and under different accountabilities. What matters deeply to one group often looks irrelevant to another, which is why alignment on "success" collapses so easily.

This post is for leaders and practitioners responsible for systems, products, or outcomes who struggle to coordinate across these boundaries.

The red flag to look out for: When people share more details instead of creating shared clarity, it's a sign the organization has lost alignment on what actually matters in a given situation.

There's absolutely nothing novel to be found here. The real question is why obvious mistakes keep surviving. I made the content deliberately childish to show just how simple the problem is.

1. Observable Expected Effect

Observable & Expected

Trench dug along the street exposing old corroded pipes, with dirt piles, road surface disruption, safety barriers, and workers supervising the pipe removall 

These are the planned, visible consequences of the work that everyone can see and anticipate.

Observable & Unexpected

The excavator bucket accidentally strikes a fiber optic cable conduit that was not marked on utility maps. Severed cables and sparks reveal infrastructure damage that nobody anticipated.

This effect is visible once it happens but was not expected or planned for. Lesson learned?

Unobservable & Expected

Beneath the surface, the excavation silently alters groundwater flow patterns. Water seeps in new directions through disturbed soil layers, pooling in unexpected underground paths. This is a known problem in the area!

These changes are completely hidden from workers above and may only become apparent much later through secondary symptoms like soil settlement. Are there no ways to mitigate the risk?

Unobservable & Unexpected

Deep underground, vibrations from the excavator cause a hairline crack in a nearby gas main running parallel but deeper than the work zone. A small gas leak seeps into surrounding soil.

This is the most dangerous category: invisible damage that nobody anticipated, potentially discovered only after serious consequences emerge. Will you be able to connect the dots later?

Summary

It doesn't matter what your profession is — excavator operator or software engineer. If you're the one doing the work, you need to ensure a timely and reliable feedback loop for verifying that the result matches what you aimed to do and then of course act upon mismatches.

Strive to control variance in conformity with specification over time.