layout: true <div class="remark-slide-number" style="left: 20px; right: unset">@xaprb</div> --- class: title, no-number background-image: url(money-2180330-1280.jpg) .smokescreen[ # Observability in Business ## Baron Schwartz • March 2018 ] --- class: img-right # Logistics & Stuff .col[ Slides are at [xaprb.com/talks/](https://www.xaprb.com/talks/). Ask questions anytime. Please get in touch: [@xaprb](https://twitter.com/xaprb) or baron@vividcortex.com. ] .rc[  ] --- # Introduction * What does a well-managed business measure? * How do they do it? * How is it similar to systems observability? --- class: center, middle # Disclaimer VividCortex is a startup, not a mature, well-managed business (yet). I personally have more scars than successes. --- class: img-right # What Should You Measure? .col[ What gets measured gets managed.<br> — Peter Drucker ] .rc[  ] --- class: center # Therefore Be Damn Careful Most of what you will want to measure is **not worth it**. -- In fact, measuring too much is actively harmful. --- # The High Cost Of Measuring Some effects of measuring the wrong things: - Cost of asking "what does this **mean**?" -- - Cost of misaligning **priorities**. -- - Cost of reaching **false conclusions**. -- - Cost of **gathering data**. -- - Cost of **missing vital signals**. -- - Cost of integrations, dependencies, and other **lock-in**. --- class: title background-image: url(imnl\_tesla\_watch.jpg) .smokescreen[ # This Sounds Oddly Familiar ] --- class: img-right .col[ # Measure What Matters How do you know what matters? We've been progressively adopting OKRs to create greater clarity. Pro tip: 3 is the magic number. People can't prioritize too many things. ] .rc[  ] --- class: img-right .col[ # The Goal I asked Cary Millsap about his favorite computer performance book and he turned me into a fan of _The Goal_. It's one of those "business novels with a moral." ] .rc[  ] --- # A Key Lesson From The Goal Optimize systems by: - increasing **throughput**, - while simultaneously reducing **inventory**, - and simultaneously reducing **operating expense**. ??? Paraphrased: _get work product through systems as fast as you can, avoid buildup in them, and plug the leaks_. --- class: img-center, img-450h # This Diagram Is Not Very Useful  ??? - It's company centric, not customer centric - It conflates buyer journey with sales process - It typically incentivizes measuring conversion ratios and little more - People rarely think about time in funnel, or velocity --- class: img-center, img-450h # This Is A Better Diagram  ??? - What is arrival rate? - What is residence time? - What is concurrency? - What is completion rate? - What is conversion rate? - What is value of inventory? - Relate to finance: where is money lying around? Collections... --- # Data-Driven Coaching You have two sales reps. Both are **working equally hard** and one is closing a lot more deals. How can you help the other one? -- Sit down and walk through all the **metrics** for each stage in their process. - Are you doing *enough* activities at this stage? - Are you doing the *right* activities? (Conversion ratios) - Are your leads/prospects *moving* or stuck? - What is your *pipeline value*? - Etc. --- # The Foundation The foundation of business observability is the **event data**. * Timestamped records of every **state change** and its dimensions. -- * High-dimensional, rich data with **full context**. -- * **Sampling** is sometimes appropriate (e.g. auditing the books). --- background-image: url(wallet-2292428\_1280.jpg) --- class: two-column # Slides and Contact Information .col[ Slides are at [xaprb.com/talks/](https://www.xaprb.com/talks/), or scan the QR code. To export as PDF, print with Chrome. Contact: - @xaprb on Twitter - baron@vividcortex.com ] .col[ <div id="qrcode"></div> ]