Observability, like other ops practices, has hard and soft benefits. No logs - no root cause, that’s a hard benefit. A soft benefit is when we have more confidence in an observable system. Then we can be more productive in developing it. The trouble with soft benefits like confidence, is how to measure them. Does observability actually make us more productive? How about other activities, such as post-mortems? Why is alert fatigue so bad? Turns out, there are plenty of studies about the impact of such activities on our brain, our behavior, our productivity. In this session, we’ll explore what [neuro]science says about such practices so that:
A) We turn soft benefits into hard benefits
B) We can encourage a culture where we get the benefits and avoid the traps

Be prepared for surprises, as some “best practices” aren’t “best” at all.