I don't lean on external references much. I'd rather use my own words, shaped by whatever I've learned the hard way. Feel free to question everything — that's essential — but you'll have to hunt down the reading list yourself. The intention isn't to borrow credibility from other people's research; it's to avoid citing work I don't fully master and risk leading you astray. Almost nothing I write here is novel or extraordinary insight — the blog simply narrows in on what I personally think matters in ways of working, and my rationale behind this view.
One day I'll master the art of immutable blog posts. Until then, expect the occasional retroactive edit whenever past‑me embarrasses present‑me. I'll try to remember to leave edit notes.
Effective observability depends on aligning how we observe three areas: what a change to a system does, what is achieved by it, and what is gained. When these perspectives drift apart, people work in isolation and make decisions that don't add up over time. Part 1 focuses on the doing perspective.